Volunteers as Witnesses: The Mobilization of AIDS Volunteers in New York City, 1981-1988

In this article, I describe the role of volunteers in the AIDS epidemic in New York City between 1981 and 1988. I provide an overview of the role of volunteers in the development of social policy and the emergence of new service organizations. A broad range of social and cultural factors mobilized volunteers, and one community-based organization, the Gay Men's Health Crisis, played a central role in that mobilization.