About Marty's Place

Marty's Place Affordable Housing Corporation is a housing co-op for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco, more affectionately known as Marty's Place. Marty’s Place is a nonprofit organization and 501(c)3 in California.

Marty’s Place is not a program or supportive living organization but a member-based, democratic, social housing model for independent living with shared community spaces. Memberships and participation are required for tenant occupancy.

History: Marty's Place was founded in 1993 by Richard Purcell, a Franciscan friar who came to San Francisco to care for his brother Marty who was dying from AIDS. After Marty's passing, Richard continued using the property to house care for low-income people with AIDS until he passed in 2011. Richard Purcell left the property to Dolores Street Community Services specifically to house people living with HIV/AIDS, and today Marty's Place is fulfilling that mission as Marty’s Place Affordable Housing Corporation.

Today, our networks extend through various, local AIDS service organizations and communities in San Francisco, and our friendships are global.  

The current housing market in San Francisco has become unaffordable for many long-term, HIV-positive San Franciscans, who deserve  to have affordable housing and access to a high standard of medical care.  Marty's Place is a solution as a tenant-based social housing model with self-management.

For information about our Board of Directors, please continue to scroll below.

Contact us:

Marty's Place Affordable Housing Corporation

Email: mpahc@mpahc.org

On social media:

Facebook:  facebook.com/martysplacesf

Twitter:  @MartysPlaceSF

Board of Directors

Michael RouppeT, member director.

A Bay Area native and executive leadership professional, Michael Rouppet has spent over three decades at the intersection of housing justice and public health advocacy. His journey as a community organizer began in the early 1990s with Queer Nation and ACT UP, including a historic participation in the 1993 March on Washington DC, where he stood in solidarity with national chapters to surround the U.S. Capitol.

Executive Leadership & Housing Advocacy

Michael is a leading voice for the principle that housing is healthcare. He is currently serving his sixth term as the first elected Board President of Marty’s Place Affordable Housing Corp., where his leadership in securing stable housing for people living with HIV/AIDS earned him the POZ 100 Award (2018) and the Bill Kraus Leadership Award (2020). His governance expertise extends to his former role on the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Community Land Trust and his work as a housing counselor, where he has successfully fought for strengthened tenant rights across San Francisco.

Public Health & Policy

Beyond housing, Michael is a recognized expert in civic engagement and policy formulation. He was a delegate for the 2020 World AIDS Conference, co-drafting the San Francisco Principles 2020 to champion self-determination and universal healthcare. His frontline experience includes:

• Violence Prevention: Ten years of dedicated service (2000–2010) as a peer educator specializing in rape and domestic violence prevention through Project Survive.

• Community Wellness: Representing marginalized populations on the Department of Aging & Adult Services' HIV & Aging workgroup and working with the David Lynch Foundation to explore the benefits of Transcendental Meditation for long-term survivors.

Education & Credentials

Michael majored in Psychology with academic emphases in LGBT Studies, Ethnic/Minority Cultural Studies, Women’s Studies and is a Certified Sexual Health Educator, he has combined his academic background with practical experience in syringe access and peer education to advocate for social justice and healthcare equity for over 30 years.

PAUL AGUILAR, MEMBER DIRECTOR

Paul A. Aguilar is a fourth generation native San Franciscan. He had just turned 18 when the first Centers for Disease Control/CDC reports came out on June 5, 1981 describing a mysterious disease killing gay men. Two months later, his friends started dying. Seven years later, in 1988, he sero-converted.

Paul began volunteering at the AIDSWalk to Volunteer Coordinator at the San Francisco Center for Living where he discovered there was a name for the type of volunteer work he was doing: Development. Having won the James S. Johnson Scholarship, Paul attended and completed the University of San Francisco’s Institute of Non-Profit Management in 1998.

Paul has worked for the Mayor’s Criminal Justice Council’s “Safety Network Program,” coordinating seven community organizers throughout San Francisco by assisting community stakeholders in addressing public safety and crime prevention at the neighborhood level.

In 2000, Paul became part of the original implementation team of San Francisco’s Proposition 36 (a.k.a. Substance Abuse Crime Prevention Act) which was the only county in the entire state of California to run the program through its health department to address substance use disorder as a public health issue. From there he spent several years at the International Institute of San Francisco overseeing the coordination of several state funded programs to help immigrants and refugees; in particular, Bosnian refugees and other asylum seekers.

Currently, Paul is a co-author of The San Francisco Principles 2020, has had three essays published nationwide addressing the needs of long-term survivors of HIV, and is currently working on a documentary called “From AIDS to Covid: an Intergenerational Journey.” When asked to describe himself in three words, he replied: Artist, Activist, Advocate.

KEVIN ORTIZ, NON-MEMBER DIRECTOR.

Kevin Ortiz is a passionate advocate for housing justice and a familiar face in San Francisco’s community organizing circles. As the Vice President and a Non-Member Director for Marty’s Place Affordable Housing Corporation, Kevin dedicatedly supports the mission of providing stable, member-led housing for those living with HIV/AIDS. He believes deeply in the power of community-run spaces and works closely with the board to ensure the organization remains a sustainable, supportive home for its residents.