[wpgmza id=”1″]

Return to the West Hollywood Memorial Walk

From the West Hollywood Patch. Click here to read the story on the West Hollywood Patch website.

Today at 11:30, the West Hollywood Walk of Fame will grow by one, when Rick Starr’s plaque will be added to the installation.

The walk is a tribute to life and a promise to those lost to continue our commitment to improve the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS, according to its website.

Starr died last July, according to WeHoville. He had worked at Hollywood Sheet Music for years until the store shut down in 2009.

Says WeHoville; “Starr also was known for Rick’s Picks, the shows he hosted at the Gardenia Supper Club at 7066 Santa Monica Blvd., east of La Brea, which is the longest-running cabaret supper club in the United States.”

According to a fan Facebook page, today is Starr’s birthday.

“Rick’s most earnest desire when he knew that the end was near was that he be remembered with a plaque on the West Hollywood Memorial Walk,”a Facebook post says.

The public unveiling of the plaque is at 12:30 p.m.

From Wehoville. Click here to read the story on the Wehoville website.

Alliance for Housing and Healing will install a plaque on Santa Monica Boulevard today honoring Rick Starr, “the Patron Saint of Sheet Music,” who was known for his support of musical theater and its artists for almost twenty years.

Starr died in July last year. He had worked for years at Hollywood Sheet Music, which closed in 2009. Established in 1969, Hollywood Sheet Music was known for its extensive music library and for the expertise of Starr, its only employee. Its clients included “American Idol,” Michael Feinstein, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, Johnny Mathis, Sony Studios, “the Tonight Show” and Warner Bros. as well as music teachers, students and performers. Hollywood Sheet Music has since reopened with a store in Burbank and sells sheet music online.

Starr also was known for Rick’s Picks, the shows he hosted at the Gardenia Supper Club at 7066 Santa Monica Blvd., east of La Brea, which is the longest-running cabaret supper club in the United States.

A brief biography of Starr written in 2007 on the occasion of his receiving a humanitarian award from the Actor’s Equity Association Western Region, noted that he “began his career as an Equity actor, doing character roles all over the Eastern Seaboard. He got his Equity card in a dinner theater production of ‘Guys and Dolls,’ and for a long time worked regularly as an actor in stock companies, supplementing his career by directing and choreographing summer theatre and kids camps, culminating in the Equity Library Theater production of ‘Anything Goes’.”

Starr moved to Los Angeles to perform in “Night Shift,” then became AEA stage manager briefly before joining Hollywood Sheet Music in 1989.

The AEA biography cited Starr for his “knack for finding obscure or out of print music… (suggesting) audition songs and (sharing) information about upcoming shows. He also attends as many shows as possible, bearing opening night gifts that range from music-themed pencils and erasers to framed out-of-print sheet music. ”

The plaque installation, which will take place at 11:30am outside Don’t Tell Mama at 8279 Santa Monica Blvd near Sweetzer, is on part of the West Hollywood Memorial Walk, which was developed by AHH in cooperation with the City of West Hollywood to memorialize those who have died of AIDS-related illnesses. The walk’s memorial plaques extend along Santa Monica Boulevard from Fairfax to Doheny. The plaques are supported by donations that go to support the work of AHH, the county’s oldest and largest provider of financial assistance to people living with HIV/AIDS. It helps clients pay for rent, utilities, food and drugs.

Housing is Healthcare.

Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, our partner in care, joins us in knowing that good healthcare begins with stable housing.

To support our programs that provide short-term and long-term housing solutions for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS, Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center has named Alliance for Housing and Healing among its Community Benefit beneficiaries for the better part of ten years – most recently in 2013 with a $10,000 grant. We are most appreciative of this strong commitment to serving highly vulnerable people with HIV/AIDS.

Nearly 40% of our resources are dedicated to the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center ‘s service area including one of our wonderful group homes, Casa Madona. This special transitional housing facility welcomes AIDS-impacted women and their children. In a warm, home-like setting, we provide 24/7 care including meals, comfortable rooms, medication management, and transportation to medical providers. Thanks to Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center and other generous donors, we continue to see that providing housing is a key platform for getting people living with HIV/AIDS into medical care.

“Happy New Year!” That typical greeting was missing this year at our West Hollywood office. Well, not missing entirely, but our sunny clerk Cesar was promoted to a Housing Specialist (congrats!). That left the front desk without his big smile to greet our walk-in clients.

The Alliance for Housing and Healing West Hollywood office at 8235 Santa Monica Boulevard was for many years known as the Aid for AIDS office. With the merger of Aid for AIDS and The Serra Project in 2009, the new 501(c)3 Alliance for Housing and Healing is the face of our outreach in the heart of West Hollywood.

“Being in the center of West Hollywood is vital,” says Maribel Ulloa our Housing Support Services Program Manager. “From this central office we can welcome those who are most in need of help – people who are struggling with HIV/AIDS, earning less than $1,200 a month, and disabled by other illnesses that are putting them on the brink of homelessness. When needed, we can act quickly and provide a rent check or utility payment in just 48 hours.”

Such prompt assistance often begins with a warm greeting from the front desk clerk. But don’t worry, the smiles are returning. A new clerk will be starting in February – just in time to say “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Certified Nursing Assistant Burna Stewart (l) and Soldano House Residence Manager Sokha Sea.

Dignity Health St. Mary Medical Center awarded a generous grant to Alliance for Housing and Healing to support the registered nurse and Masters-level social worker who provide excellent services at our two group homes in Long Beach.  These staffers are part of the incredible team that administers 24/7 care to our residents who are coping with HIV/AIDS and other debilitating illnesses.

The St. Mary Medical Center has been a beacon of hope and help in Long Beach for more than 90 years.  It continues to provide compassionate and professional care while working with local nonprofits for a healthier community.

Alliance for Housing and Healing is proud to partner with the Comprehensive AIDS Resources and Education (C.A.R.E.) program at St. Mary Medical Center.  We rely on this leading service provider for client referrals and a deeper understanding of those who enter our housing continuum.

“We accept everyone.”  Michelle Hurst-Crumpton grew up with that wonderful lesson repeated often by her mother when they volunteered throughout their North Carolina community.  As a team they stood on street corners in underserved neighborhoods to distribute flyers announcing the new Head Start programs and worked with homebound disabled children who required extensive care.  These moments of heartfelt service have stayed with Michelle and shaped her professional and personal choices.

When she moved to Los Angeles a few years ago, she continued her quest to be of service to others.  With the understanding that serving on the board of directors of a nonprofit is both demanding and rewarding, Michelle searched for a mission that matches her deeply held values and extraordinary compassion.  In 2013, we welcomed Michelle as a member of the Alliance for Housing and Healing’s board.

With a desire to focus on fundraising, Michelle is eager to link her growing LA network with Alliance.  Her personal and professional Rolodex is filled with people who feel the way she does – that a life lived in service to others is fulfilling and joyful.

Even as Michelle advances in her career as a senior school administrator and carves out time to spend with her new wife, she sees her mother as a role model and hero for every stage in life.  At 74 years old, Mom recently completed a Master’s program in clinical psychology and is about to begin an internship counseling LGBT teens.

But Michelle’s mother is not only about self-sacrifice and service.  Mom likes a good party too as demonstrated recently when she mixed up a batch of Bloody Marys on Christmas because the wine just wasn’t strong enough.  Go Mom!