Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
Congreso de Latinos Unidos, a non-profit, multiservice organization located in eastern North Philadelphia, has more than three decades of experience as an HIV prevention provider and serves a low-income, Latino community that has experienced recent increases in substance use and HIV transmission. If awarded, Congreso will expand its HIV prevention response to perform over 2,000 additional HIV tests during this five-year project that will address urgent trends in HIV transmission among persons who inject drugs (PWID). Because Congreso recognizes the environmental and social components of substance use and other risky behaviors, the project will link all patients to essential support services that lead to long-term health and well-being, such as substance use treatment and syringe services programs. Addiction support services will be available to PWID regardless of their HIV status, and Congreso’s new Addiction Support Specialist will facilitate weekly support group sessions utilizing SHIELD. Clients will also have access to a safe place for one-on-one sessions to support their risk/harm reduction plans. Congreso’s project aligns with the four strategies established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to end the HIV epidemic: diagnose, treat, prevent, and respond. Diagnose: The project will provide testing for HIV and referrals to integrated screenings, such as syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, viral hepatitis, and tuberculosis. Through social networking strategies, community events, and mobile outreach, the project’s outcomes will increase persons who are aware of their HIV status and increase receipt of integrated sexually transmitted disease screenings. Treat: The project will link clients who are diagnosed with HIV to medical care, including antiretroviral treatment (ART), provide medical case management, and encourage connections with resources that address the social determinants of health, such as social services and behavioral health programs. Treatment outcomes are increased receipt of HIV medical care and ART among persons with newly diagnosed HIV or with previously diagnosed HIV who are not-in-care, increased access to partner services, and increased access to essential support services among persons with HIV. Prevent: The project will support HIV-negative persons from acquiring HIV by assigning them an HIV Navigator to create an individualized risk reduction plan, connecting them with medical care that includes pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), conducting mobile outreach to distribute risk reduction information and tools (e.g. condoms), providing the evidence-based SHIELD intervention for injection drug users, and referring clients to essential services that address the social determinates of health. Prevention outcomes are increased access to PrEP, increased availability of condoms, increased access to essential support services for HIV-negative persons, and increased receipt of evidence-based risk-reduction behavioral interventions. Respond: The project will continue Congreso’s partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health through data sharing and ongoing participation in the Philadelphia HIV Planning Group which will result in increased engagement for cluster detection and response. Congreso’s holistic, culturally appreciative HIV services will reduce new HIV infections, reduce HIV-related health disparities, and improve health outcomes for persons with diagnosed HIV in eastern North Philadelphia. This project will help Congreso stem the rise of HIV among PWID and increase the health and well-being of Congreso’s community and Philadelphia as a whole.
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).
