Pater Noster House / Ohio AIDS Service Organizations

Side A: Pater Noster (“Our Father”) House was a nonprofit crisis center and hospice for people living with HIV/AIDS that originated in the Columbus Hilltop neighborhood. Barbara Cordle (1939-2020) opened the center in 1985 to serve the community during a time of intense homophobia. Cordle, a devout Catholic and licensed practical nurse, felt called to serve those who needed her care. During the 17 years it operated, Pater Noster housed over 1,100 patients for little or no cost. LIFE magazine ran a photo of patient David Kirby’s final moments in November 1990 that “changed the face of AIDS.” In 1997, all Pater Noster House operations moved to a farmhouse on the southwest side. Cordle was honored by the American Institute for Public Service with a Jefferson Award for “outstanding community service” in 2002. Side B: Ohio activists and community organizers worked to combat the HIV/AIDS crisis by creating a number of vital AIDS Service Organizations. Founded during the 1980s, they included: The AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland (1983); AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati (1983); The Columbus AIDS Task Force (1984); The Toledo Area AIDS Task Force (1985); The Ohio AIDS Coalition (1985); The Athens AIDS Task Force (1985); The AIDS Resource Center of Ohio (1986); Caracole (1987); David’s House Compassion (1989); and, The Tobias Project (1996). AIDS Service Organizations provided such vital services as testing, counseling, case management, education, medication exchange, housing assistance, buddy support programs, referrals, healing retreats, and the Ohio AIDS Hot Line, at little or no cost to their clients. These programs and services supported and saved the lives of untold numbers of Ohioans.