Its been a full week for The Living Affected Corporation and we're not done yet! As an organization, it takes a tremendous amount of time, patience, persistence and passion to keep going after what it takes to make a community based organization tick. Often its a "24/7" pursuit which takes us in many directions in our day to day operations not to mention our travel schedules which afford us a chance to network with national and regional entities. The amount of work it takes to address issues surrounding the sexual health of marginalized communities involves discovering funding streams, developing viable programming, sourcing materials and formulating plans to execute it all. The Living Affected Corporation is proud of its accomplishments, partnerships and community involvement that has kept us at the forefront in the struggle of crafting prevention messages for our target population of Black MSM's while offering platforms that will result in providing prevention, education, advocacy and empowerment opportunities available to all. Our mission has been stated, our vision is clear and we vow to move forward in our pursuit of becoming the premier institute of inclusive well being. Your donations, in-kind contributions, volunteering and vital support is always welcomed and encouraged. Can we count on you today?
Living Affected awarded 2012 ADH Prevention Grant
The Living Affected Corporation has been selected as a Arkansas Department of Health sub-grantee to launch additional 2012 HIV/AIDS prevention programming. The $50,000 grant funded as apart of the overall CDC funding cycle which will allow the agency to use the "D-Up" evidenced based concept as a template tailored for use in Pulaski County. Known as a "DEBI," the intent of the concept is integrate local social networks with mentored individuals through an extensive 4 week training module. The goal and final outcomes of the program is designed to have culturally sensitive prevention messages delivered from a "peer to peer" perspective resulting in changing behavior. The program is set to begin tentatively March 1 through December 2012.
Black HIV/AIDS Awareness 2012: LA Corp Participates City Wide
Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was commemorated 2.7.12 with LA Corp participating with a informational booth during Philander Smith Colleges campus health fair. The event was a cooperative effort promoted by Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Arkansas Department of Health and other campus groups. According to organizer LaKaija Wood, the target audience of the even was the student body of the PSC but the event was open as a community service. The day was inclusive of four main objectives which included educations, testing, community involvement and linkages to treatment. The Living Affected Corporation's booth was a composite of all the services and products offered by the group including its latest periodical, "Our Lives, Our Stories, The Untold Stories of Women with AIDS." Those visiting the LA Corp both were quizzed on AIDS related questions with prizes being given with correct answers. Over 75 students were tested for HIV & STI's during the course of the fair which included an address from Dr. Larry Waller and concluded with a reception featuring a sheet cake to celebrate the day. The organization also had an editorial piece appearing in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette ( 2.9.12) citing its commitment and a call to action to the local community to become more engaged with this health dilemma. LA Corp also used its Facebook platform as community gathering place to highlight prevention messages and personal "shout out's" from users. Using social media outlets has been an ongoing group strategy in its outreach to Black MSM and beyond.
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a national HIV testing and treatment mobilization initiative designed to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment among Blacks in the United States. The Living Affected Corporation will be unveiling its entire calendar of events on this platform and through its social media sites. The flagship website, www.livingaffected.org will be re-tooled to provide a more stimulating experience for users. Additional publications including the recently released resource guide will be updated and the completion of a magazine dedicated to LGBTQ health issues beyond AIDS and HIV is slated for a June 2012 distribution.
Facebook, Instant Messaging, Skype and More—To Encourage HIV Testing
Last month, we attended the 9th Annual National African American MSM Leadership Conference on HIV/AIDS and other Health Disparities
(AAMSM) in New Orleans, LA, to encourage the use of new media in HIV/AIDS programs. Over 350 federal, state, and local health officials, community based organizations (CBOs), HIV/AIDS service providers, and community leaders gathered to share and learn from their peers’ experiences in facing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African American MSM (men who have sex with men) community.
We spoke with Kalyani Sanchez, On-site Supervisor at the David Geffen Testing Center at Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) of New York City about a social networking outreach program it has piloted called the Leaders in Networking and Knowledge (L.I.N.K.) Project. The program uses social applications such as Facebook, instant messaging, Facetime, Skype, and more to promote and encourage HIV testing. The L.I.N.K. project also provides clients with the resources they need to extend the reach of HIV information to their social networks.
“It’s community taking care of community, getting individuals to get their friends, family, sexual partners, drug-using partners tested, and identifying those individuals that are newly diagnosed and linking them to care,” said Sanchez.
Not only is the project using social networks to deliver the message of getting tested, but it is using mobile testing sites to remove some of the barriers to HIV testing. “We know that there’s a stigma surrounding testing centers,” said Sanchez, “so what we do is bring testing to them in places like parties or even video game challenges…It’s just making testing part of the norm.”
During the pilot of the program, they tested over 900 young MSM — many of whom did not know their status beforehand. To learn more about the L.I.N.K. project view our interview with Mr. Sanchez as www.aids.gov
Living Affected awarded 2012 ADH Prevention Grant
The Living Affected Corporation has been selected as a Arkansas Department of Health sub-grantee to launch additional 2012 HIV/AIDS prevention programming. The $50,000 grant funded as apart of the overall CDC funding cycle which will allow the agency to use the "D-Up" evidenced based concept as a template tailored for use in Pulaski County. Known as a "DEBI," the intent of the concept is integrate local social networks with mentored individuals through an extensive 4 week training module. The goal and final outcomes of the program is designed to have culturally sensitive prevention messages delivered from a "peer to peer" perspective resulting in changing behavior. The program is set to begin tentatively March 1 through December 2012.
Black HIV/AIDS Awareness 2012: LA Corp Participates City Wide
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a national HIV testing and treatment mobilization initiative designed to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment among Blacks in the United States. The Living Affected Corporation will be unveiling its entire calendar of events on this platform and through its social media sites. The flagship website, www.livingaffected.org will be re-tooled to provide a more stimulating experience for users. Additional publications including the recently released resource guide will be updated and the completion of a magazine dedicated to LGBTQ health issues beyond AIDS and HIV is slated for a June 2012 distribution.Facebook, Instant Messaging, Skype and More—To Encourage HIV Testing
Last month, we attended the 9th Annual National African American MSM Leadership Conference on HIV/AIDS and other Health Disparities
(AAMSM) in New Orleans, LA, to encourage the use of new media in HIV/AIDS programs. Over 350 federal, state, and local health officials, community based organizations (CBOs), HIV/AIDS service providers, and community leaders gathered to share and learn from their peers’ experiences in facing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African American MSM (men who have sex with men) community.We spoke with Kalyani Sanchez, On-site Supervisor at the David Geffen Testing Center at Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC
) of New York City about a social networking outreach program it has piloted called the Leaders in Networking and Knowledge (L.I.N.K.) Project. The program uses social applications such as Facebook, instant messaging, Facetime, Skype, and more to promote and encourage HIV testing. The L.I.N.K. project also provides clients with the resources they need to extend the reach of HIV information to their social networks.“It’s community taking care of community, getting individuals to get their friends, family, sexual partners, drug-using partners tested, and identifying those individuals that are newly diagnosed and linking them to care,” said Sanchez.
Not only is the project using social networks to deliver the message of getting tested, but it is using mobile testing sites to remove some of the barriers to HIV testing. “We know that there’s a stigma surrounding testing centers,” said Sanchez, “so what we do is bring testing to them in places like parties or even video game challenges…It’s just making testing part of the norm.”
During the pilot of the program, they tested over 900 young MSM — many of whom did not know their status beforehand. To learn more about the L.I.N.K. project view our interview with Mr. Sanchez as www.aids.gov
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