EJAF December 2012 Grants
This is the third and final round of grants for EJAF for calendar year 2012, totaling $3,346,530. This new funding brings EJAF’s total grant investments for 2012 to over $7.4 million.
The 16 new and 36 renewal grants support projects in the Caribbean, Latin America, the Southern United States, and national initiatives throughout the U.S. Target populations covered by this grant cycle include gay men, incarcerated populations, injection drug users, African Americans, and young people. Grantee activities include HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and care services, legal services, organization development, and policy and advocacy.
Included among these grants are several policy-related grants that EJAF specifically requested to move AIDS-related issues forward given the current political climate and the outcome of the 2012 elections. The areas covered by these projects are the most pressing issues in 2013, including the reauthorization and implementation of the Ryan White Care Act, the successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the full implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, and the repeal of the ban on the use of federal funding for syringe exchange.
EJAF also awarded three $25,000 emergency grants to assist several HIV/AIDS organizations in the New York/New Jersey area to help them recover from damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, and to provide services for people living with HIV/AIDS who have been displaced from their homes and jobs as a result of the storm.
Grants List
Caribbean
Partners In Health
Providing Comprehensive HIV Care in St. Marc, Haiti
Renewal
Boston, MA
$500,000.00
Promoteurs Objectif ZeroSIDA
Health Care for gay men and other MSM in Haiti
New
Port au Prince, Haiti
$50,000.00
Latin America
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research
The MSM Initiative: Latin America Program
Renewal
New York, NY
$250,000.00
Southern United States
HealthHIV
HIV Workforce Capacity Building in the Southern US Region
New
Washington DC
$50,000.00
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Outreach in Greater Houston and Louisiana
Renewal
Houston, TX
$25,000.00
Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council
Facilitating Access to Coordinated Treatment (FACT)
Renewal
Lake Charles, LA
$35,580.00
HIV/AIDS Among African Americans
BASIC NWFL, Inc.
Linking In Need Communities (LINC)
Renewal
Panama City, FL
$50,000.00
HIV/AIDS Among Gay/Bisexual & MSM
AIDS Care Center for Education & Support Services
The LGBT Center of Hampton Roads
Renewal
Norfolk, VA
$75,000.00
AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta
PrePare ATL
New
Atlanta, GA
$50,000.00
The Attic Youth Center
HIV Prevention Services for At Risk YMSM in Philadelphia
Renewal
Philadelphia, PA
$45,000.00
Big Bend Cares
MSM Counseling, Testing, and Linkage to HIV Care and Treatment
New
Tallahassee, FL
$40,000.00
Compass, Inc.
Compass Peer Navigator Program
Renewal
Lake Worth, FL
$50,000.00
Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Greater Fort Lauderdale, Inc.
LIFE Goes On
Renewal
Wilton Manors, FL
$50,000.00
Harlem United Community AIDS Center, Inc.
HOME
Renewal
New York, NY
$75,000.00
Health Outreach Prevention Education (H.O.P.E.)
IMPACT
Renewal
Tulsa, OK
$50,000.00
HEAT Program/Research Foundation of SUNY
YMSM/Transgender Health Project
Renewal
Brooklyn, NY
$50,000.00
Henry Street Settlement
Project PROTECT
New
New York, NY
$50,000.00
Jacksonville Area Sexual Minority Youth Network, Inc.
Mobilizing Youth for Action Against AIDS (MYAAA) Project
Renewal
Jacksonville, FL
$40,000.00
Mazzoni Center
Youth Drop-In Program
New
New York, NY
$50,000.00
Michael Reese Research and Education Foundation
Integrated HIV care for African American MSM on the south side of Chicago
Renewal
Chicago, IL
$37,950.00
My Brother’s Keeper, Inc.
Project Gulf Coast Initiative
New
Ridgeland, MS
$50,000.00
NYU School of Medicine
M*SHP Project 36:00 (Men’s Sexual Health Project)
Renewal
New York, NY
$50,000.00
Okaloosa AIDS Support and Informational Services, Inc. (OASIS)
OASIS Community Center
Renewal
Ft. Walton Beach, FL
$75,000.00
Out Youth
Expanding HIV Prevention, Testing and Counseling for Youth
Renewal
Austin, TX
$25,000.00
Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando, Inc
Teens in Charge
Renewal
Orlando, FL
$25,000.00
Resource Center of Dallas
Líbre Latino HIV Prevention Program
Renewal
Dallas, TX
$38,000.00
Sex Workers Project
Supporting and Advocating for MSM Sex Workers
Renewal
New York, NY
$50,000.00
St Hope Foundation
Project SOUL
Renewal
Houston, TX
$50,000.00
Trinity Lutheran Church
Trinity Place Shelter Harm Reduction Workshops
Renewal
New York, NY
$25,000.00
Youth Outlook
HIV/AIDS Education Among LGBTQ Youth
Renewal
Naperville, IL
$25,000.00
HIV Among Current & Formerly Incarcerated
AIDS Foundation Houston
Wall Talk
New
Houston, TX
$50,000.00
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
Advancing the Rights of Prisoners with HIV
Renewal
New York, NY
$150,000.00
Bailey House, Inc.
Project FIRST
Renewal
New York, NY
$35,000.00
Correctional Association of NY
HIV in Prison Advocacy Project
Renewal
New York, NY
$50,000.00
Health and Home Support Services, Inc.
Health and Home Support Transitional Housing Program
Renewal
Newport News, VA
$50,000.00
Health People, Inc.
The High Need Re-Entry Health Project
Renewal
Bronx, NY
$50,000.00
Migrant Clinicians Network
Bridge to Care
New
Austin, TX
$50,000.00
STAND, Inc.
Transition Project – CTR-(Counseling, Testing and Referral)
Renewal
Decatur, GA
$40,000.00
St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center
Coming Home: Providing Care and Support to Formerly Incarcerated Individuals Renewal
New York, NY
$25,000.00
HIV/AIDS Among Young People
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project (RFP) “Advancing Healthy Sexuality Education”
Renewal
New York, NY
$50,000.00
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Virginia
Increasing HIV/AIDS Knowledge and Testing Rates Among African-American Men in Southeastern Virginia
Renewal
Hampton Roads, VA
$45,000.00
HIV-Related Policy & Advocacy
AIDS Alabama
Empowering HIV Advocates to Change Policy in Alabama
Renewal
Birmingham, AL
$50,000.00
AIDS United
Funding to End AIDS in America
New
Washington DC
$200,000.00
AIDS Institute
$75,000.00
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research
$75,000.00
Georgia AIDS Coalition
Georgia AIDS Advocacy in Action
New
Atlanta, GA
$40,000.00
NCCI/The Center for HIV Law and Policy
Positive Justice Project
Renewal
New York, NY
$50,000.00
NCCI/The Center for HIV Law and Policy
Teen SENSE
Renewal
New York, NY
$50,000.00
NC AIDS Action Network
Gaining Rights the Organizing Way (GROW) Project
Renewal
Raleigh, NC
$50,000.00
Southern AIDS Coalition, Inc.
Southern AIDS Advocacy Project
New
Birmingham, AL
$50,000.00
Hurricane Emergency Relief & Miscellaneous Grants
AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
$10,000.00
Treatment Action Group
Research in Action Awards
$10,000.00
Bailey House
Bailey-Holt House Emergency Fund
New
New York, NY
$25,000.00
South Jersey AIDS Alliance
Emergency Relief Services
New
Atlantic City, NY
$25,000.00
Project Hospitality
New
New York, NY
$25,000.00
God’s Love We Deliver
New
New York, NY
$25,000.00
EJAF September 2012 Grants
The Caribbean
amfAR, The MSM Initiative (Caribbean), New York, NY, $150,000
Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership, Hastings, Christ Church, Barbados, $75,000
Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, Boston, MA, $424,000
Housing Works, New York, NY, $96,331
Latin America
Aid for AIDS International, New York, NY, $100,000
Southern United States
AIDS Community Research Initiative of America, New York, NY, $125,000
African Americans
Black AIDS Institute, Los Angeles, CA, $200,000
Gay Men in the U.S.
Kaiser Family Foundation, Greater Than AIDS Campaign, Menlo Park, CA, $350,000
HIV-Related Policy and Advocacy
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Toronto, Ontario, $50,000
amfAR, Syringe Exchange Research and Advocacy, New York, NY, $90,000
Treatment Action Group (TAG), New York, NY, $125,000
HIV Prevention and Treatment Information
AEGiS, San Juan Capistrano, CA, $10,000
The Dr. Michael Gottlieb HIV/AIDS Information Center, West Hollywood, CA, $50,000
Project Descriptions
Caribbean — $745,331
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, New York, NY, Renewal, $150,000. The MSM Initiative (Caribbean)
amfAR’s MSM Initiative focuses on three objectives: (1) Provide financial support to grassroots community organizations serving gay men, other men who have sex with men, and transgender (GMT) individuals for HIV service delivery, research, and advocacy. (2) Provide technical assistance to build capacity among grantees and enable them to sustain and scale up their programs. (3) Conduct and support advocacy at the local, national, regional, and global levels. EJAF has provided annual support of $150,000 each year since 2007 for the MSM Initiative’s community awards in the Caribbean ($750,000 total). With nearly five years of experience funding groups in the Caribbean in partnership with EJAF, amfAR’s MSM Initiative has made a demonstrable impact in the region. It now has the opportunity to deepen that impact by intensifying its technical support to grantees in order to help them strengthen and scale up their work. As part of this process, the MSM Initiative will draw on the relationships it has built in the region as well as its expertise in working with community groups. As in other regions where amfAR works, these grassroots organizations are often the only source of HIV services and support for MSM and transgender people in their communities. For many of them, their MSM Initiative community award is the first outside funding they have received—thus helping to jump-start their activities and generate results that can be used to apply for additional grants elsewhere. Thanks to this support, many past grantees have been able to leverage their successful results into funding from other donors. Since 2008, amfAR and EJAF have not only supported projects to expand access to HIV prevention and services, but have also funded groups that are working to promote human rights and decriminalize homosexuality throughout the region.
Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS (CBMP), Hastings, Christ Church, Barbados, Renewal, $75,000. Media and public awareness campaigns.
CBMP was established in 2006 in response to a call by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2004 with the establishment of the Global Media AIDS Initiative. The Initiative aims to leverage the power of broadcast media to share information on HIV, reduce HIV stigma and discrimination and change behavior. With valued funding partners the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and the Ford Foundation, 30 top broadcasters from 20 Caribbean countries signed the Bridgetown Declaration to establish the CBMP and launch the LIVE UP campaign. CBMP has now grown from its initial number of 30 broadcasters into a coalition of 111 leading TV and radio broadcasters in 24 countries (up from its initial 20). Collectively, CBMP partners reach an estimated audience of 40 million in the Caribbean. The annual donated airtime has grown from 12 minutes a day to 45 minutes by some members who have also increased their contribution of human and financial resources for HIV original content for the LIVE UP campaign and the media’s donated resources are now modestly estimated to be valued at US $10 million. LIVE UP has expanded its partnerships and messages to reach different audiences engaging entertainment, media and sports celebrities who are influential with young audiences to convey key messages on HIV prevention and reduction of stigma and discrimination, through a series of radio and TV Public Service Announcements (PSAs) as well as edgy programs and social media, which are packaged and broadcast free of charge by participating media houses.
This grant will support the production of 3 episodes of LIVE UP: The Show (LUTS). LUTS is a lively magazine show about HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region with a target audience of 18-44 year olds; its approach is vibrant, positive and informative; its goal is to raise the profile of HIV/AIDS across the region and empower viewers to make good decisions in their own lives and in the lives of those they love. LUTS fills a half hour time slot with 25-26 minutes of actual content divided into several distinct segments. Each segment, provided by CBMP members, focuses on a different country in the region to ensure geographic diversity. The remaining time is used for LIVE UP Public Service Announcements and locally sold commercial time. Each episode of LUTS includes 3 original HIV segments from CBMP members. The show is currently anchored by two hosts, Mitzi Allan of Antigua and Garfield Burford of Jamaica who are flown in to record the show at CMC Studios in Barbados. Each show addresses an HIV or sexual health related theme, as well as triggers or contributors to risky behaviors. The overall aim of the show reinforces the core messaging objectives of the CBMP’s LIVE UP consumer-focused media campaign.
William J. Clinton Foundation, Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI), Boston, MA, Renewal, $424,000. Increasing Access to High-Quality HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Haiti and Jamaica.
CHAI has worked in the Caribbean since 2002 and has partnered with EJAF since 2007. CHAI’s partnership with EJAF has focused on ensuring the most value for money in national HIV programming efforts in order to expand quality HIV care. Specifically, this has been achieved through work that allowed countries to access lower cost antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and laboratory diagnostics, develop fully-costed country-specific HIV strategic plans and expand lab systems through adoption of new technological developments and better sample transportation to reach rural areas. During this partnership, EJAF has supported CHAI to offer support to numerous countries throughout the Caribbean. The Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Barbados and Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States have all benefited from past EJAF-funded CHAI support to help improve HIV services throughout the region. Additionally, EJAF provided an additional short-term grant for Haiti to provide relief after the devastating earthquake.
Directly through this EJAF support, CHAI helped the Ministries of Health in these countries to achieve extraordinary results and fulfilled the original objectives that necessitated in-country presence in most of our English speaking Caribbean countries, most notably dramatically increased ARV coverage. Therefore, during 2011 and 2012, CHAI’s presence in the Caribbean contracted with program closures in the Dominican Republic and all English speaking Caribbean countries, excluding Jamaica. While all countries continue to be a part of CHAI’s procurement consortium, their national HIV programs no longer require intensive CHAI assistance. CHAI now strives to focus in-country support to Haiti and Jamaica with the aim of achieving similar national success. By working on key programs in direct partnership with the government, through support from EJAF, CHAI has already made substantial improvements to the national HIV programs and broader health system in both Haiti and Jamaica. Building on past CHAI programming, Jamaica is poised to achieve increased national ARV coverage rates and accomplish the incredible task of eliminating pediatric AIDS. With targeted support from CHAI in the remaining key challenge areas, the government will overcome the final obstacles to providing national high-quality HIV services. Additionally, while Haiti is still rebuilding after the earthquake, CHAI has made tremendous improvements to the multitude of systems required for a high-quality national HIV program. Initial focus on expanding access to ARVs and laboratory systems has led to greater access and more efficient program spending. In both countries, CHAI will continue partnership with the Ministries of Health to expand access to HIV services. In Haiti, programs focus on building foundational systems in areas of policy, clinical treatment and access. In Jamaica, where a solid HIV program foundation has been established, CHAI will tackle the remaining bottlenecks to achieve Ministry of Health goals and ensure long-term program sustainability.
Housing Works, Brooklyn, NY, Renewal, $96,331. Activism and Organizing for AIDS Organizations in Rural Haiti.
Housing Works is a healing community of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Its mission is to end the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS through relentless advocacy, the provision of lifesaving services, and entrepreneurial businesses that sustain these efforts. On the national and global stage, Housing Works provides technical assistance to, and collaborates with, community-based groups, with a focus on marginalized populations. In response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010, Housing Works, PHAP+ (a Haitian association of people living with HIV and AIDS), and three New York City organizations entered into a coalition to support the opening of a Port-au-Prince HIV/AIDS clinic, support the reopening of a Port-au-Prince family health center, and establish an HIV/AIDS clinic in the northern city of Saint-Marc. In keeping with the on-the-ground needs in Haiti, Housing Works is implementing a long-term plan for rebuilding and enhancing quality services and health care for marginalized communities. EJAF supported this program last year with a grant of nearly $100,000.
This grant will help Housing Works continue the expansion and further adaptation of a human rights-based advocacy and organizing program for Haiti-based AIDS organizations. The program targets at-risk, marginalized individuals (MSM, transgender individuals, sex workers, and others facing stigma) and to offer them empowerment and advocacy training. The goals of the program are to (1) grow and support an empowered cadre of community activists, with a focus on those living outside the capital; (2) systematically confront homophobia and stigma; and (3) improve health and wellness outcomes for participants and all marginalized populations. Program objectives include: (1) Recruit and train a network of activists in affected communities, with a focus on those residing in rural and peri-rural areas; (2) Development/implementation of community-based activist-led anti-stigma campaigns; and (3) Organization of and/or overt participation in community-wide rally events.
In addition, Housing Works will continue to enable scholarly research focusing on Haitian MSM and the capacity of organizations to meet their needs in HIV prevention and health care. Working with the PSI supplied dataset, researcher Dr. Linda Marc of Harvard will continue her pioneering research on this underserved and overlooked population, seeking to understand the impact of stigma and perceived discrimination on Haitian gay men/MSM and their health and wellness. No known research project has looked at these factors among MSM in Haiti. A related study undertaken by Dr. TJ Ghose of UPenn will examine the housing status of marginalized populations and the lingering effects of the 2010 earthquake on gay men/MSM, transgender individuals, and sex workers and their housing status. Study results will help to garner attention and funding for these populations and influence future interventions.
Latin America — $100,000
Aid for AIDS International, New York, NY, Renewal, $100,000 Tomando Control!
Since 2007, EJAF has supported Aid for AIDS’ ¿Cuánto Sabes de VIH y Sida? (How Much Do You Know About HIV and AIDS?) program, a primary HIV-prevention program aimed at teenagers in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its purpose is to prevent the spread of HIV infection among at-risk youth by training young people to make healthy and responsible decisions about their sexual lives and empowering them to become leaders and agents of change in the fight against HIV and AIDS in their schools and communities. Just last year, in Colombia: 200 teachers were trained; 53 schools were reached in the cities of Palmira, Tulua, and Buga.The teachers conducted 12 workshops and trained 2,000 adolescents as multiplying agents. These agents reached a total of 26,500 peers at the schools. In Dominican Republic: 119 teachers were trained; 58 schools were reached in Santo Domingo. The teachers conducted 12 workshops and trained 1,320 adolescents as multiplying agents. These agents reached a total of 29,000 peers at the schools. In Panama, 4 workshops were conducted in different regions of the country: Kuna Yala, San Miguelito, Panama City, and Colon. 3,780 adolescents were trained to become multiplying agents; these agents in turn reached out to 30,697 people in their communities. In Venezuela, 202 teachers were trained and 104 schools were covered. The teachers conducted 13 workshops and trained 2,424 adolescents as multiplying agents. These agents in turn reached out to 52,000 peers at their schools. Additonally, the Venezuela program reached 400 adolescents through large events.
This grant will support an expansion of Cuánto Sabes with a special program titled Tomando Control! Tomando Control!, will target at-risk LGBT young people (age 16-25) in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Venezuela. The overall goal of the program is to develop, promote, and train LGTB leaders in these countries to enhance their work in and out of their communities with the expected outcomes of strengthening existing LGTB organizations, helping them to organize where they don’t exist, creating opportunies to share experiences, integrating organizations, and positioning them in discussion tables and with decisions makers. The goal is to deliver accurate information about HIV transmission and prevention, sexual rights, and ways to make healthy and responsible sexual decisions to LGBT youth so that they may improve the quality of life for themselves and their partners. This goal will be achieved through intensive training of selected LGBT youth in these targeted countries. Once trained, participants will be empowered to pass along what they have learned to their peers, thus becoming leaders and agents for change within their communities.
Southern United States — $125,000
AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), New York, NY, Renewal, $125,000. National Technical Assistance South (NTA South).
Since 2009, EJAF has supported ACRIA’s technical assistance program for HIV/AIDS organizations in the Southern United States with grants totaling $500,000. This grant will support a new series of technical and capacity building assistance programs in three cities while continuing to support previous participants through on-going follow-up. ACRIA’s objectives are to (1) provide participants with HIV prevention, treatment, and care-related information, using a health literacy model; (2) demonstrate an increase in HIV prevention, treatment, and care-related knowledge among participants; (3) develop an agreed-upon service integration plan with each participating agency, tailored to its specific needs; (4) provide coaching and mentoring in New York City for three participants from each city; (5) increase participants’ awareness of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and the implementation plan, including the specific impact it has on their work; and (6) assist agencies in developing strategies that will meet the goals and objectives of the Strategy. As in years past, ACRIA aims to recruit 80 participants from 60 agencies, with the goal of each participant sharing what they have learned with 10 to 30 staff and 50 to 300 clients at their respective organizations or within their community. This training has the potential to reach 2,400 service providers and over 8,000 clients.
African Americans — $200,000
Black AIDS Institute, Los Angeles, CA, Renewal, $200,000, Black AIDS Treatment Advocates Network
EJAF has provided generous funding to the Institute since 2009. During the most recent year, EJAF provided funding for a comprehensive, year-long effort to support implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Programmatic components included programming for Black gay men, up to four statewide testing tours to promote HIV awareness and HIV testing, trainings and webinars on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, and four forums to promote awareness of emerging biomedical interventions for HIV prevention. In previous years, EJAF supported the Institute in its Black AIDS mobilization campaign. This multi-year support encompassed media outreach; report production, launch and dissemination; and intensive capacity-building and technical assistance to leading Black organizations to develop and implement strategic HIV/AIDS plans.
This grant will strengthen and expand the Institute’s Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN). The project will (1) increase HIV science and treatment literacy in heavily affected Black communities, (2) reduce rates of undiagnosed HIV infection in the cities where BTAN operates, (3) improve rates of linkage to care, retention in care, and treatment adherence in BTAN cities, (4) improve survival of people living with HIV in BTAN cities, and (5) reduce rates of new HIV infections in BTAN cities.
Over the next 12 months, the Institute will launch BTAN networks (with intensive training and capacity-building support) in six new cities: Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Oakland, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge. Each the BTAN networks will consist of at least 20-30 trained treatment advocates. In the third quarter of 2013, the Institute will launch 3-6 additional BTAN networks. The Institute’s BTAN staff will provide intensive, ongoing technical support to BTAN networks to plan and implement local strategies to increase uptake of HIV treatment and biomedical prevention tools. Quarterly webinars will be provided to the national BTAN network to alert them to important scientific developments and build their skills for their local work. A national meeting of the BTAN network (to be held either as the US Conference on AIDS or the annual CROI meeting) will bring BTAN advocates together for an intensive training and networking event, building their skills, enabling them to learn from other BTAN networks, and rejuvenating their commitment. The Institute will promote the aims of BTAN and celebrate its achievements through extensive publications, newsletters, presentations at national meetings, and media outreach.
Gay Men in the United States — $350,000
Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, CA, Renewal, $350,000. Greater Than AIDS PRIDE.
Since 2010, EJAF has supported the Greater Than AIDS PRIDE campaign with grants totaling $675,000. This grant will support the continued development and distribution of targeted content—including both media campaigns and community materials—to reach and engage gay and bisexual men, of all races, in the U.S. on HIV/AIDS. Although national in scope, a specific emphasis is on those most affected, Black men who have sex with men and gay/bisexual men of all races living in heavily-affected metropolitan areas.
The content is produced as part of Greater Than AIDS – a leading public information response launched in 2009 by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Black AIDS Institute to address the domestic epidemic – and is presented as a special “Pride” initiative of the broader effort. Greater Than AIDS Pride is supported by partnerships with major media companies (both mainstream and gay-oriented) and other corporate allies, notably Walgreens; state and local health departments; and local AIDS service and community organizations, among others.
Key deliverables planned during the grant period include: (1) Campaign Development: Produce new public service ads (PSAs) for gay and bisexual men (and their families / loved ones) for television, radio, print, online and outdoor platforms. Messaging will draw on learnings from focus groups conducted by Kaiser with gay and bisexual men earlier this year, as well as response to previous campaigns. Redesign of greaterthan.org website to expand content for gay and bisexual men. New website will include dedicated portals for “Pride” and “en español” initiatives. (2) Campaign Placement: Engage media companies with reach to the target audience, including both mainstream and gay-oriented, to support the campaign messages. Coordinate donated and leveraged buys for media space. Emphasis on priority markets and national placements. Place targeted Facebook promotions (ads and posts) to engage gay and bisexual men through social media platforms. (3) Community Outreach: Produce community materials – guides, posters, postcards, buttons/stickers, other informational and promotional items—with targeted content for gay and bisexual men for distribution to AIDS service and community organizations, including for Pride and other events. Partner with leading national and AIDS service/LGBT organizations to develop targeted community-level responses in priority markets, including testing tours and other special events. Work with state and local health departments to develop coordinated messaging strategies to reach gay and bisexual men on HIV/AIDS, leveraging local resources to extend efforts in priority markets. (4) Company Content: Develop extended editorial and programming content with media partners. Expected continuation of SiriusXM OutQ special quarterly show and also expanded partnership discussion with Here Media, including another in-book informational guide and ongoing editorial packages and referrals to Greater Than AIDS Pride resources throughout year. Continue to develop partnership with Walgreens to distribute information and provide services, including HIV testing, for gay and bisexual men with focus on locations with large gay clientele.
HIV-Related Policy and Advocacy — $265,000
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Toronto, Ontario, New, $50,000. Criminalization and HIV.
Defending against injustice, mobilizing community and educating the public: In 2012, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network marks its 20th anniversary as one of the world’s leading organizations focused on legal and human rights issues related to HIV/AIDS. Since 1992, the Legal Network has been fighting to ensure that all people enjoy the fundamental right to the highest attainable standard of health, per international law, intervening on complex issues that affect the lives of thousands of people around the world. The Legal Network’s mission is to promote the human rights of people living with and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, in Canada and internationally, through research and analysis, advocacy and litigation, public education and community mobilization. The Legal Network has been and will remain a recognized global leader in this movement for health and human rights, and is an organization with Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (UN).
The criminalization of non-disclosure of HIV status continues to be one of the central legal challenges for front-line service providers and organizations of people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) in Canada. In 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled in R. v. Cuerrier that a person must disclose his or her HIV-positive status before engaging in sexual activity that poses a “significant risk” of HIV transmission to a partner. This important limitation on the scope of the criminal law – and the express recognition that condom use might preclude criminal prosecution – was thanks to the Legal Network’s intervention as amicus curiae. However, the court did not define what would constitute “significant risk” in its decision or provide criteria for assessing risk. On February 8th of this year, the SCC heard two new cases (R. v. Mabior and R. v. DC) that will shape the contours of the law for decades to come and affect all PHAs in Canada. The Legal Network led a coalition of interveners before the SCC, as well as related media advocacy. Judgments are expected in the fall of 2012. In the meantime, people continue to be prosecuted across Canada on an unjustifiably expansive reading of the law. The demand for updated, accessible information resources explaining the law and answering questions has increased, especially with the pending rulings.
As the major organization in Canada with legal expertise and the longest track record of human rights advocacy on this subject, the Legal Network will undertake the following activities with this grant: (1) Intervention in Appeals: Following the SCC ruling, the Network will intervene in at least 2 appellate court proceedings that will shape how that ruling gets applied. Given the extreme position being advanced by the Attorney General in these cases, with prosecutors urging the courts to do away with any consideration of transmission risk, and rule instead that mere non-disclosure suffices to treat a person with HIV as equivalent in law to a rapist, the Network will help mobilize AIDS organizations, PHAs and other activists to attend these court hearings in order to put a human face to the issue of criminalization and to show public opposition. (2) Educate, empower, and mobilize communities of PHAs and others: Once the SCC issues its judgments, the Network will need to help PHAs understand the new state of the law by providing information so that community-based AIDS organizations and other service-providers across Canada understand the legal environment that applies to and affects their practice in providing services and by providing material to defence counsel handling such cases, so they can better advise and represent clients living with HIV. (3) Share information at the international level: In 2011/12, the Legal Network produced Positive Women: Exposing Injustice, a documentary that addresses the particular concerns that HIV-positive women have about the use of criminal charges – an important perspective that is often unheard. It premiered in Toronto in June 2012 to a full house and received overwhelmingly positive feedback. The Network is planning screenings across Canada and at AIDS 2012 in Washington. Based on discussions with colleagues at the SERO Project, the Nework will screen the film in New York to an audience of activists, community organizations, funders and the general public in the fall of 2012.
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, New York, NY, Renewal, $90,000. Advancing Effective HIV Prevention: Syringe Exchange Research and Advocacy.
EJAF has supported the National Syringe Exchange Survey and amfAR’s syringe access advocacy efforts since 2006 with grants totaling $420,000. For nearly two decades, EJAF’s generous support has enabled amfAR to fund crucial research and conduct advocacy aimed at preserving and expanding the lifesaving programs that helped turn the tide of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among injection drug users in the U.S. This grant will help to support the National Syringe Exchange Survey, which remains the leading source of information on syringe exchange programs and provides background for amfAR’s advocacy on this issue. With this grant, amfAR and its partner the Beth Israel Medical Center will pursue the following objectives: (1) Gather accurate, updated, and comprehensive information about syringe exchange programs in the U.S. through the annual National Syringe Exchange Survey. This year’s research will include a special emphasis on program funding, given the strain that many U.S. programs are experiencing because of state budget cuts and restrictions on federal funding. In states where HIV/AIDS budgets have been reduced or flat-funded, syringe exchange programs often find that monies previously allocated to them are being shifted to other sources. Tracking these kinds of trends will help inform amfAR’s ongoing advocacy in this area. (2) Use survey results to inform advocacy of comprehensive harm reduction, including efforts to remove the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange programs. During the next year, syringe access advocacy will be more critical than ever as states and communities continue to struggle to fund these programs. As it has for more than two decades, amfAR will play a leading role in urging lawmakers to enact policy based on sound scientific evidence, including the data gathered by the National Syringe Exchange Survey.
Treatment Action Group (TAG), New York, NY, Renewal, $125,000, AIDS Cure Advocacy + Universal Access to ART by 2015
TAG is an independent AIDS research and policy think tank fighting for better treatment, a vaccine, and a cure for AIDS. Founded in 1992, TAG programs focus on the basic science and pathogenesis of HIV; HIV drug development and cure research, HIV biomedical prevention; hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment and cure; tuberculosis research, prevention, and treatment, domestic and global universal access to high- quality interventions for HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and TB; and community education and empowerment. Since 2008, EJAF has supported TAG’s activities with grants totaling $140,000.
With this renewal grant, TAG will work with the FDA, NIH, Forum for Collaborative HIV Research, Martin Delaney Collaboratories for HIV Cure, the Foundation for AIDS and Immune Research and others to accelerate high-quality HIV cure basic and clinical research. Sponsor a web hub for AIDS cure research related resources. Sponsor community cure literacy workshops throughout the year. Work with the Research Working Group and others to assure that NIH receives funding increases in the current and dangerous fiscal environment. Advocate for full funding globally of the Global Fund and PEPFAR to assure accelerated scale-up to Universal Access by 2015. Advocate for full funding of US AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), Medicaid expansion, and ways to fund universal access to ART in the U.S. TAG’s policy team will monitor ways in which the ACA can underwrite further domestic HIV prevention and treatment expansion. TAG will work with New York state stakeholders on a statewide HIV investment framework.
In addition, TAG will convene a workshop of leading scientists, policy makers, implementers, and activists, to draw up plans for revitalizing the National AIDS Strategy (NAS) by setting more ambitious targets. This workshop will build on recent advances in HIV prevention science and drug development to propose ways of bringing the US epidemic not only under control but achieving dramatic reductions in new infections, increases in treatment uptake and treatment success. Using HIV treatment as both treatment for those infected and as prevention for those uninfected, we have the tools to reduce new infections dramatically and save the lives of virtually all those infected, as long as they can access high quality treatment and care services. This will require restructuring the entire prevention-testing-treatment-retention in care cascade to optimize outcomes for all those at risk, infected, and living with HIV.
Following the workshop, concrete outputs will be produced, including a Strategic Investment Framework for HIV in the United States. If consensus develops, an additional Strategic Investment Framework will be created for New York City and/or New York State, to inspire a clear road-map for state and local action in parallel with the proposed revisions to the National AIDS Strategy. Out of the workshop, which will be held in late 2012 or early 2013, proposals will be distributed to the federal government, as well as to the governments of New York City and New York State, asking them to take the lead in providing the scientific, medical, and economic resources to achieve dramatic and lasting changes in the US epidemic. TAG will also work with its allies, the US government, and other stakeholders to advocate that other countries with significant HIV epidemics also draft ambitious plans to bring their epidemics dramatically lower with the new evidence based combination of testing, prevention, and treatment for all.
HIV Prevention and Treatment Information — $60,000
AEGiS, San Juan Capistrano, CA, Renewal, $10,000.
The AIDS Education Global Information System (AEGiS) is an open access, Internet based living HIV/AIDS library. The web site provides current research information, human resources, treatment, prevention, product, and policy information, with worldwide news and event coverage. The documents contained in the living library chronicle the history of HIV/AIDS. Information is organized in sections by publication type, with clearly stated sources, authors and publication dates. AEGiS’ broad scope of information elucidates the human experiences and reactions related to HIV/AIDS. All services are conducted with the purpose of providing educational information regarding HIV/AIDS.
This grant will support further content development and services including: (1) Information Retrieval: In order to retrieve materials, content workers scour the Internet daily for new acquisitions, sort through wire news feeds, and download HIV/AIDS publications and conference abstracts. Over one hundred documents are processed per day and become part of AEGiS’ archives. (2) Document Access & Dissemination: The latest news is provided on the homepage of the web site and in respective sections on AEGiS. New and/or note-worthy information is chosen by content staff for dissemination via the AEGiS WebBoard, a database-driven web-based content management system. AEGiS also has a Twitter account is launching a Facebook page in order to participate in social media as it has become an important part of advancing public health. (3) Personalized Information & Service – The Ask the Doc Forum: The anonymous Ask the Doc forum is both a service and an archived set of questions and answers. HIV specialists located in various parts of the U.S. provide personalized, qualified, accurate answers to questions from those living with HIV and AIDS, their caregivers, the affected community and individuals who wish to learn more about this disease. Since the launch of Ask the Doc in 2002, AEGiS has succeeded in providing over 4000 answers. (4) E-mail Communication Lines: Questions that are not suitable for Ask the Doc can be sent to other e-mail addresses offered on the web site. (5) Service Connections: The Resources section available on AEGiS is updated and added to frequently, with many submissions being received from community members. These web-links point site visitors to resources in their local communities and connect them to hundreds of on-line resources. (6) Extensive HIV/AIDS History: It has been 30 years since HIV/AIDS emerged. AEGiS’ unique collection of information dates back to the early days of the epidemic, offering a valuable glimpse into the past. (7) Accurate Information: The Health on the Net (HON) Foundation is the leading organization promoting and guiding the deployment of useful and reliable online medical and health information, and its appropriate and efficient use. The HON code is the most widely recognized symbol of trustworthiness and relevancy on the Internet and pertains only to web sites that have been reviewed and uphold the HONcode ethical principles. AEGiS subscribes to the HON code of ethics and has been in continuous compliance since January 2001.
The Dr. Michael Gottlieb HIV/AIDS Information Center, West Hollywood, CA, New, $50,000
This new landmark facility and civic center located in West Hollywood, CA, offering a signature collection and programs promoting HIV/ AIDS education, opened to great acclaim in the Fall of 2011 and is serving approximately 1,000 visitors daily. Among the most important collections and programming focus areas being developed is the HIV/ AIDS Information Center. Named for the discoverer of the first cases of AIDS, Dr. Michael Gottlieb, this center will feature an up-to-date collection of books, periodicals, papers and articles on HIV/AIDS that document its treatment and prevention, and its permanent impact on society. It will also document the history of the HIVepidemic and the grass roots activism that helped advance research and treatment. In addition to its unique focus on documenting the intersection between research, medicine, care and advocacy, it will also house the personal papers of Dr. Gottlieb and colleagues, for researchers throughout the world.
In the context of a public library, the Gottlieb Center has a unique opportunity to offer free and anonymous access to a broad demographic, to information that would educate the public about HIV/ AIDS, promote awareness about protection, reduce stigma and discrimination, and document the grass roots activism that helped to mobilize AIDS research and treatment. The Center will work with established and new service partners to augment, feature or support projects such as “Promoting Healthy Behaviors,” where trained teenagers offer peer-to-peer counseling to address the misperceptions of the disease and risky behavior that make teens vulnerable to HIV. A lecture series on the latest advances and worldwide efforts in treatment and prevention will be developed for an adult audience. Ultimately, the Center intends to spur a discussion of multi-agency collaboration and possibly a regular-use facility or facilities for community agencies. The City of West Hollywood is a strong supporter of community agencies and is discussing the possibility of shared space. The Center’s role in this will be as convener and host of planning discussions, as well as possibly a resource to enhance fund development efforts.
EJAF May 2012 Grants
EJAF’s first round of grants for calendar year 2012 total $850,000. Three grants have been awarded to AIDS United, The NAMES Project’s “Quilt-In the Capital 2012” program, and the SERO Project’s “HIV Is Not a Crime” program. EJAF is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organization supporting HIV prevention, stigma reduction, treatment, care, and service programs.
“We are tremendously excited about the important work of these three grantees,” said EJAF Chairman David Furnish. “We look forward to collaborating with them over the next year and furthering our shared goals of fighting stigma and supporting underserved populations in communities heavily impacted by HIV/AIDS.”
AIDS United, $700,000: “For the past 19 years, EJAF has provided funding to AIDS United (formerly the National AIDS Fund), bringing together the strengths of both organizations to advance HIV prevention, service, and advocacy programs across the U.S.,” said EJAF’s Executive Director Scott Campbell. “The Foundation continues to value this partnership, combining EJAF’s voice and ability to mobilize resources with AIDS United’s network of Community Partnerships and national HIV/AIDS grant-making initiatives.”
AIDS United will apply EJAF’s $700,000 award to several initiatives, including the Access to Care (A2C) initiative and Community Partnership challenge grants. The Access to Care (A2C) Initiative supports innovative HIV programming in 10 U.S. locations, ranging from rural Alabama to the neighborhoods of Harlem, to ensure that these under-served communities are able to access and benefit from HIV treatment and care. The AIDS United Community Partnerships support local HIV grants, fundraising, technical support and advocacy in 29 states across the country. Please visit www.aidsunited.org for further information.
The NAMES Project, Quilt-In the Capital 2012, $100,000: The NAMES Project maintains, enhances, and displays The AIDS Memorial Quilt, the largest memorial to individuals lost to HIV/AIDS in the world. Throughout its history, The AIDS Memorial Quilt has been used to fight prejudice, raise awareness and funding, as a means to link hands with the global community, and as an effective tool in HIV/AIDS education and prevention. It is difficult to walk away from The Quilt unchanged. Campbell said, “By revealing the humanity behind the statistics, The Quilt helps teach compassion; triumphs over stigma, phobia and taboo; and inspires individuals to take direct responsibility for their own well being and that of their family, friends and community.” EJAF is providing a one-time grant to help display The AIDS Memorial Quilt at over 50 venues in Washington, D.C., during the 19th International AIDS Conference, July 20-24, 2012, to help focus additional public attention on worldwide efforts to end the AIDS epidemic.
SERO Project, HIV Is Not a Crime, $50,000: The United States leads the world in the prosecution and extended imprisonment of people with HIV for consensual and no-risk behavior. HIV criminalization – use of the criminal law to single out people with HIV for punishment that is significantly disproportionate to our treatment of similar or more serious risks of harm – may be one of the more harmful examples of active government support for the disparate treatment of people living with HIV. The facts of many of these cases read like relics from a less-informed past; in a number of states, exposing someone to HIV can produce a far more severe punishment than killing someone with a car. “EJAF is supporting the SERO Project to directly address the urgent issue of HIV criminalization by documenting the ways that HIV-positive people are impacted by criminal laws, engaging and empowering those who have been prosecuted, educating and mobilizing communities, and raising broad public awareness by sharing compelling personal stories of those who have been prosecuted.” stated Campbell.
