Positive Wellness Alliance has been very fortunate over the past several years to have received two grants both of which were funded by the Harriet Taylor Flynt Fund through The Winston-Salem Foundation! The Winston-Salem Foundation is a community foundation that supports charitable programs in the greater Forsyth County area. In our case, their funding allowed for the continuation of HIV Medical Case Management and the opporutnity to launch Many Men Many Voices Prevention.
We are grateful for the 4 years of support from the Winston-Salem Foundation which helped sustain and grow our HIV Medical Case Management Program in Forsyth County. We truly could not have realized the success of this program without the Foundation’s support.
Medical Case Management services help link HIV positive clients to a continuum of health and socail services. These services ensure that clients with complex needs receive timely, coordinated services, assisting clients to function independently and productively as long as possible. Medical Case Management is client centered, focused on empowering the client, goal oriented, flexible, culturally sensitive, efficient, cost-effective, easily accessible and calls for collaboration amongst the community of HIV providers in our service region.
We were also able to realize another dream – that of launching a targeted HIV prevention program – Many Men Many Voices or 3MV. We held 3 sessions which significantly impacted 34 men. 3MV targets young African-American MSMs – men who have sex with men.
This CDC sanctioned HIV prevention program provided risk reduction education for this population. At present, MSMs represent the highest number of annual new HIV infections as well as the largest group of people living with HIV/AIDS in the South. The 3MV curriculum consists of a 7-session group-level intervention program designed to prevent HIV and sexually transmitted disease among black men who have sex with men. The participants will increase their knowledge about risk reduction, increase their ability to assess their personal risk for HIV disease, and embrace the importance of use and/or negotiating the use of condoms. HIV and STD testing will be offered at the end of the sessions.
Positive Wellness Alliance would like to again thank The Winston-Salem Foundation for the provision of funds which directly impacted persons infected with HIV disease as well as curtail the spread of HIV disease through prevention. Their belief in our work has allowed us to continue meeting the needs of our clients and educate the African-American MSM population! Thank you! You have made a difference in many lives!
