Black Women First Initiative
This initiative will expand access to quality health and mental health care for Black women living with HIV.
- Impact Areas:
- Health & Mental Well-being
- Human Rights & Social Justice
Impact
The Black Women First Initiative supports the design, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-informed interventions for Black women with HIV.
We foster
- Enhanced patient navigation, case management or peer engagement
- Red Carpet Care experience to address barriers to HIV care
- Stigma-reduction interventions
- Use of trauma-informed care interventions
- Self-efficacy, health literacy, and resiliency interventions
- Interventions to address intimate partner violence, sexual violence or other behavioral needs
Benefits
- Addressing socio-cultural health determinants
- Expanding delivery and utilization of comprehensive HIV care and treatment services
- Supporting continuous engagement in care
- Improving health outcomes for Black women with HIV in a culturally sensitive and responsive manner
Demonstration Sites
The initiative provided funding to the following 12 demonstration sites across the country:
- TogetHER by Abounding Prosperity, Inc., in Dallas, TX
- Sisters United by AccessMatters in Philadelphia, PA
- Black Women’s Health Initiative by AIDS Care Group in Chester, PA
- Women Evolving by AIDS Foundation of Chicago in Chicago, IL
- The Women’s Health Initiative (WHIP) program by AIDS Service Center of Lower Manhattan in New York, NY
- Sisterhood for Health Equity (SHE) program by the City of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA
- Black Women Organized for Wellness! (B.WOW!) by Grady Health System in Atlanta, GA
- Care and Treatment Services (CATS) NOLA by Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies in New Orleans, LA
- SISTA BE by Positive Impact Health Centers in Atlanta, GA
- Sisters Inspiring Growth and Healing (SIGH) by Quality Comprehensive Health Center in Charlotte, NC
- Health, Empowerment, and Recovery Services plus (HERS+) by UCSF Women’s HIV Program in San Francisco, CA
- Stepping Stones by Volunteers of America, SE Louisiana in New Orleans, LA
Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center
The Evaluation and Technical Assistance Provider, The University of Massachusetts—Lowell (PI: Dr. Serena Rajabiun) in partnership with AIDS United, Boston University Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health, and Impact Marketing + Communications, lead a multi-site evaluation, provide technical assistance, and disseminate findings and lessons learned from this initiative.
Key Partners
Convergent partnerships are at the heart of what we do. We are proud to partner with federal and state agencies, non-profit and advocacy organizations, philanthropic institutions, and universities to elevate social work leadership and to create equitable health and mental health care systems for all.
Funding Disclosure
This initiative is supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health Minority HIV/AIDS Fund (MHAF) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HIV/AIDS Bureau, Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) program.
