Thursday, April 18, 2024
4/18/2024
The Los Angeles LGBT Center (the Center) - the nation’s largest LGBT health and service organization and a distinguished HIV specialist medical care provider - requests funding through the CDC’s FY 2022 Comprehensive High-Impact HIV Prevention Programs for Young Men of Color Who Have Sex with Men and Young Transgender Persons of Color grant program (CDC-RFA-PS22-2203) to implement Lit Life, a comprehensive, integrated HIV prevention initiative designed to significantly reduce the number and incidence of new HIV infections in Los Angeles (LA) County, California among young men who have sex with men (YSMS) of color, with a focus on African American and Latinx youth. Lit Life will oversee an integrated matrix of high-impact HIV prevention activities centering around the hard-hit communities of Hollywood, West Hollywood, and the areas around Center South - the Center’s new FQHC clinic and service facility located in the hard-hit South Los Angeles area. Lit Life will apply state-of-the-art findings and emerging strategies to connect with and engage the highest-risk YMSM of color in LA County in order to both prevent new HIV infections and connect HIV-positive YMSM to culturally competent, high quality HIV medical and biomedical prevention services.The overarching purpose of the Lit Life program is to achieve a significant reduction in the number of new cases of HIV transmission among young MSM (YMSM) of color and their partners in Los Angeles County, California in accordance with both the HIV National Strategic Plan and the CDC’s High-Impact, Status-Neutral HIV Prevention approach. The project will accomplish this goal through a linked, integrated program that: a) increases utilization of both stand-alone and integrated HIV/STI counseling and testing services for high-risk YMSM of color populations; b) identifies at least 12 new HIV-positive YMSM of color each year, and effectively links both newly identified and previously identified persons with HI V to Partner Services and to high-quality, in-house medical care, including same-day ART; c) refers and links HIV-negative persons at high risk for HIV to high-quality, in-house PrEP and PEP services, including same-day PrEP starter packs; d) provides ongoing treatment retention and medication adherence services to support long-term HIV and PrEP treatment engagement; e) provides comprehensive access to condoms and safe sex kits; f) increases outreach to and engagement with high-risk young MSM of color in South Los Angeles, including through direct testing services at the Center’s South LA location and expanded collaborations with youth-serving organizations and YMSM consumers; g) maintains a project-specific safe space that addresses at least two key social determinants of health; and h) offers ongoing HIV health education, risk reduction, and linkage to essential prevention and supportive services. The program will place a particular emphasis on reducing new HIV infections by addressing key health disparities and developing youth-generated initiatives to address stigma, lack of access to health services, lack of knowledge of HIV risk and testing and treatment options, and lack of supportive social networks among YMSM of color.
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).
