By Angela Sanders | Grants Coordinator
Thank you so much for everything you did to make AIDS Walk Portland 2016 a huge success! We couldn't have done it without you commitment and enthusiasm. While we take a quick break before plunging into planning AIDS Walk 2017, here's just an example of two new programs that funds raised at the September event will help support:
The link between health and housing: While we’ve always been certain that stable housing and connection to services boost an HIV-positive person’s health, until recently we haven’t been able to put a number on it. Now, thanks to new data sharing software and a federally funded pilot data integration project, we can chart the correlation between the services we offer clients and these clients’ medical visits and viral loads.
We’ll know, for instance, if a newly housed client is more likely to take their medication, and if, as a result, their HIV viral load is lower, meaning that their HIV is under control. We’ll know if they’re now able to make their medical appointments regularly. We’ll also be able to track which programs are the most effective at boosting our clients’ health, and how that might differ depending on a person’s race or ethnicity or income level, for instance.
HIV and domestic violence: Victims of intimate violence are among our community’s most vulnerable members. Unfortunately, it means they are also more likely to contract HIV. Until now, Portland has had no systematic way to screen these individuals for HIV and offer them and their families housing and case management to foster their health and wellbeing while they get back on their feet.
Beginning October 1, 2016, CAP has partnered with Bradley Angle to identify and support HIV-positive people and their families. We expect this year about 14 households will receive rent subsidies and referrals to help stabilize their lives. A person’s health should not be ignored while they face the many other challenges that come with intimate violence, and CAP’s collaboration with Bradley Angle will ensure these families get the help they need.
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