Thursday, April 10, 2025
4/10/2025
RESONATE Program - Empowerment Resource Center (ERC) submits this grant application for the RESONATE Program™ (Real Solutions to Navigate Access to Comprehensive Sexual Health Services) under Enhancing STI and Sexual Health Clinic Infrastructure (Short Title: ESSHCI) NOFO CDC-RFA-PS-23-0011. This application includes Strategies A, B, and C. Under the RESONATE Program™, ERC will strengthen clinic infrastructure at its existing Comprehensive Intervention Clinic in Fulton County, expand access to comprehensive sexual health services, and establish a new physical location in Gwinnett County, improving the continuum of care for young adults. Under the RESONATE Program, ERC will target women and men, between the ages of 15 and 29, who are members of marginalized sexual, racial, and ethnic minority groups in the two clinics. ERC will primarily focus on target population members with one or more of the following experiences: with or at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI); uninsured or underinsured; unemployed or underemployed, regardless of income or ability to pay, and residing in the Atlanta metropolitan area. This vast metropolis houses an estimated 6.1 million people. ERC is a member organization of the Georgia Family Planning System, the largest and only Title X family planning network that provides fully-integrated family planning and primary healthcare services under one umbrella. Located in the city of Atlanta (Fulton County), ERC receives local, state, and federal funds to provide HIV testing and prevention services by Boards of Health in Fulton, DeKalb, and Cobb counties and Gwinnett, Newton & Rockdale (GNR) Health Departments. Through in-kind donations from the Georgia Department of Public Health, ERC receives free laboratory processing through the state public health lab. Unfortunately, many funders provide very little support for comprehensive integrated sexual health services or administrative functions to provide operational, budgetary, financial, and programmatic oversight, creating service gaps for clients and leaving nonprofits so hungry for decent infrastructure that they can barely function. An ESSHCI grant award will allow ERC to address broader community needs, sustain community resources, reinforce organizational infrastructure, and enhance its repertoire of services, strengthening the foundation from which it addresses sexual health disparities. During 2022, 439 Gwinnett County residents visited the Comprehensive Intervention, and/or were served at satellite locations and in outreach settings. ERC served 1,043 Fulton County residents in the ERC clinic, at satellite locations, and during street outreach. Through the RESONATE Program™, ERC will increase access to care by offering rapid same days test results and treatment for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis (currently results take 3-10 days), expanding its operating hours from 8:00am – 8:00pm, Monday-Friday (current hours are 9:00am to 6:00pm), and providing cervical cancer screenings for women and HPV immunizations. Currently, ERC provides MPox, HAV, HBV, and influenza immunizations. Within 12 months and over the entire project period, ERC will implement activities under Strategy A—Foster community engagement and partnerships, Strategy B—strengthen clinic infrastructure and provision of sexual health services, and Strategy C—expand access to STI prevention and other sexual health services supporting a SAVA (Substance Abuse, Violence and AIDS) syndemic approach. ERC is a not-for-profit, community-based organization with a valid IRS 501(C)(3) status. The ERC Clinic is registered with the Georgia Composite Medical Board, a participating clinic under the Georgia Volunteer Health Care Program, and a nationally recognized covered entity for STD, Ryan White (HIV), and Title X/Family Planning services under the HHS, HRSA 340B program. Jacqueline Brown, CEO, will serve as the Principle Investigator for the RESONATE Program™.
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).