AIDS United awards new grants to improve lives of people with HIV/AIDS

Thousands of individuals living with HIV/AIDS in low-income and/or rural areas will now receive local, high quality care, thanks to new grants awarded by AIDS United for its Access to Care (A2C) initiative. The awards, supported by a grant from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), will help fund the development of 10 innovative community-based programs to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. Each grant represents a collaboration of multiple organizations in each community. Some of the exciting and pioneering approaches that SIF grantees will be developing include:

“The 2:1 match requirement of the SIF makes this a significant—and expanding—investment in the "healthy futures”

• Mobile Engagement Teams: These teams will reach the most complex, chronically-ill HIV-positive New Yorkers through street-based outreach and a full spectrum of supportive services, including psychiatric and housing support.
• Handheld technology: For outreach workers who need to record client data and contact information, one program will use handheld technology so that data appears instantly in the project database -- eliminating extra steps in tracking and outcomes.
• Center of Excellence in HIV-positive Women's Care: Clinical care for women living with HIV will be integrated to address behavioral health needs, bilingual information and care, and childcare services. The Center of Excellence will be linked to clinical research, addressing a gap in existing research specific to women living with HIV/AIDS.
• Telemedicine: A ground-breaking approach to serving people who have a severe shortage of nearby HIV medical providers, one program will use video technology to allow local nurses to communicate and collaborate with medical providers at permanent HIV treatment sites.

A complete list of A2C grantees supported by AIDS United's SIF grant can be found here: http://www.aidsunited.org/uploads/docs/SIF_grantee_descriptions.pdf

The Social Innovation Fund, an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), was enacted under the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, and targets millions of public-private dollars to expand effective solutions across three issue areas: economic opportunity, healthy futures and youth development and school support. AIDS United's recent $3.6 million SIF award is in support of the "healthy futures" issue area, and requires a 2:1 match from the private sector to create a funding pool of more than $10 million annually. The funding pool will enhance the health and welfare of people living with HIV/AIDS through increased access to life-saving HIV care and treatment.

"This is a game-changing opportunity for our grantee communities and the private sector to come together to make a real difference in the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS," said Mark Ishaug, AIDS United President and CEO. "The 2:1 match requirement of the SIF makes this a significant—and expanding—investment in the "healthy futures" of our nation's communities hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. These new partnerships enable strategic, innovative, community-driven interventions that change how we invest in improving the health outcomes of the people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States."

Approximately 640,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States are not receiving the life-saving care they need due to a host of issues that can include HIV-denial, stigma, poverty and limited access to appropriate care. In addition to the specific objectives of the Social Innovation Fund, AIDS United's A2C partnership with SIF is contributing to the successful implementation of the "Increasing Access to Care" pillar of National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS).