Saturday, November 23, 2024
11/23/2024
Community Renewal Team, Inc. (CRT), a Central CT-based community action agency, seeks to start its Hartford-based HIV AIDS Risk Program (HARP). All individuals with substance use or co-occurring disorders who are at high risk of contracting HIV will be eligible for HARP. There will be a particular focus on low-income Black community members. Within this cohort, special emphasis will be placed on recruiting gay and bisexual men, men and women between the ages of 18-30, homeless adults, homeless or unstably housed youth (18-24) and transgender women. Per the CDC, the CT Dept. of Public Health, and the Hartford Transitional Grant Area (TGA), these 5 populations have HIV prevalence rates and HIV new diagnoses significantly higher than other groups. In addition, opioid deaths have skyrocketed in the Hartford area, with Black men having the highest mortality rate (up to 70% of the unintentional overdose deaths in 2021). Such statistics have led experts in the field to be concerned that the gains made in decreasing new cases of HIV will be reversed. HARP will work with individuals at high risk of contracting HIV and those who are HIV+ (including those deemed "lost to care"). The overarching goal of this initiative will be to decrease the spread of HIV and keep individuals engaged in care. To accomplish this goal, CRT's Behavioral Health Services (BHS) Division will utilize numerous evidence-based interventions, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Contingency Management, and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) During the grant period, HARP staff will reach out to a minimum of 1,000 high-risk individuals and enroll 250, of whom at least 50% will be Black. We will do extensive in-reach through our adult and youth homeless services and our Ryan White Early Intervention program. These, plus our SAMHSA-funded MAT initiative, our contract with the LEO primary care clinic (which provides its services two days per week at CRT sites), an in-house pharmacy, and the agency's many ancillary services, will be major resources for HARP clientele. Over our history, CRT has also established over 300 partnerships with external organizations in Central CT, including the Hartford Area HIV/AIDS Planning Council, the Greater Hartford Area Coordinated Access Network for the homeless, and the Youth Engagement Team Initiative. We will recruit these and other partners to serve on our HARP Advisory Board, which will include people with lived experience. Our Project Director has lived experience. We will hire a program manager and two peer support specialists. The BHS Division will seek out employees who Black, male, in recovery, and/or are HIV+. this new personnel will add further diversity to a departmental staff that currently has over 50% people of color and 1/3 with lived experience. Although diverse, Black members of the community are still underrepresented in our and other BHS programs in the Hartford area. We, therefore, will contract with Dean Jones, MSW, a trusted messenger in the Black community with extensive experience working with Black youth. A Black UCONN-trained social worker, he grew up in the capital city and served time in prison. He is the Director of the COMPASS Youth Initiative's Peacebuilder program, the recipient of UCONN's School of Social Work's inaugural "Trailblazer" Award, and now also works with Project Longevity, a gun-violence prevention program in Hartford. Deeply committed to improving opportunities for Hartford youth, he often says that he is using his second chance to give you a first chance.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
