Project Grant H79SP083871

COMPREHENSIVE HIV AND AIDS STRATEGY FOR EXCELLENCE (CHASE) - EAST BAY ADVANCED CARE (EBAC) IS PARTNERING WITH OPTIONS RECOVERY SERVICES (OPTIONS) TO PROVIDE HIV AND SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION SERVICES FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY POPULATIONS IN ALAMEDA COUNTY AT HIGH-RISK FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS AND/OR CO-OCCURRING SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL DISORDERS. OUR PREVENTION NAVIGATOR PROJECT PLANS TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO 100 UNDUPLICATED PARTICIPANTS IN EACH OF YEARS 1 THROUGH 5, FOR A TOTAL OF 500 UNDUPLICATED PARTICIPANTS OVER THE LIFE OF THE GRANT. PARTICIPANTS WILL REPRESENT A COMBINATION OF MSM, BLACK MSM, AND MSMW, AND AMONG THESE, THOSE WHO IDENTIFY AS LGBTQI+, WHO ARE NOT IN STABLE HOUSING, AND WHO ARE UNDER CRIMINAL JUSTICE SUPERVISION. AGES WILL RANGE FROM 18 TO 65. IF FUNDED, OUR COMPREHENSIVE HIV AND AIDS STRATEGY FOR EXCELLENCE (CHASE) PROJECT WILL STRENGTHEN EBAC'S ABILITY TO PROVIDE HIV EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS AND STRATEGIES. WE WILL ALSO USE FUNDING TO CONTRACT WITH OPTIONS, AN EXPERIENCED PROVIDER OF SUBSTANCE PREVENTION SERVICES. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO EXPAND OUR SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION SERVICES AND EXTEND OUR OUTREACH. IN ADDITION, WE WILL ALLOCATE FUNDS TO CONDUCT EXTENSIVE OUTREACH SERVICES TO HIGH-RISK POPULATIONS USING SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL MARKETING STRATEGIES AND IN PERSON VENUES; HIV, VIRAL HEPATITIS AND STI TESTING AND COLLECTING URINE AND BLOOD SPECIMENS, MAKE REFERRALS FOR PERSONS WITH SUDS AND HIV FOR APPROPRIATE TREATMENT, AND EDUCATE PROVIDERS ON SUBSTANCE USE AND HIV CARE AND TREATMENT SERVICES AS WELL AS PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS AND POST-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS. TO ADDRESS SUBSTANCE MISUSE, HIGH RISK BEHAVIORS RELATED TO HIV AND OTHER BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS FACING ALAMEDA COUNTY, WE IDENTIFIED THREE PRIMARY GOALS: 1) BUILD THE CAPACITY OF THE EBAC AND OPTIONS TO TARGET AND DELIVER EFFECTIVE HIV AND SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION SERVICES FOR HIGH-RISK RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY POPULATIONS; 2) IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE, EVIDENCE-BASED HIV AND SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION SERVICES, GUIDED BY OUR STRATEGIC PLAN: AND 3) FACILITATE POSITIVE OUTCOMES FOR PROJECT PARTICIPANTS. OUR MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES INCLUDE TARGETS RELATED TO BUILDING CAPACITY, RECRUITING PARTICIPANTS, IMPLEMENTING EVIDENCE-BASED SERVICES, AND FOR PARTICIPANT GAINS IN THE AREAS OF HIV-AWARENESS, SUBSTANCE USE, ACCESSING AND COMPLYING WITH TREATMENT, AND REDUCING HIV VIRAL LOADS. THE PROJECT WILL BE STAFFED BY QUALIFIED EBAC PERSONNEL AND OVERSEEN BY THE PROJECT DIRECTOR. EBAC, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OPTIONS AND GUIDED BY THE STRATEGIC PREVENTION FRAMEWORK, WILL ADDRESS SUBSTANCE MISUSE, HIGH RISK BEHAVIORS RELATED TO HIV AND OTHER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONG OUR POPULATIONS OF FOCUS. SPECIFICALLY, WE PLAN TO: 1. ASSESS NEED: IDENTIFY THE POPULATIONS OF FOCUS, RACIAL/ETHNIC MINORITY POPULATIONS VULNERABLE TO SUD/COE, HIV, VIRAL HEPATITIS AND STIS, BY CONDUCTING A TWO-PRONGED NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO COLLECT DATA ON THE NATURE OF SUBSTANCE MISUSE AND RELATED HARMFUL BEHAVIORS, RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS, AND LOCAL CAPACITY FOR PREVENTION. 2. BUILD CAPACITY: MOBILIZE AND BUILD OUR CAPACITY TO ADDRESS SUD/COE, HIV/AIDS, VIRAL HEPATITIS, AND STIS, AND PROVIDE PREVENTION SERVICES 3. DEVELOP A STRATEGIC PLAN: DEVELOP A DATA-DRIVEN, COMPREHENSIVE MAI PREVENTION NAVIGATOR STRATEGIC PLAN THAT IS CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY AGE-APPROPRIATE. 4. IMPLEMENT STRATEGIC PLAN: IMPLEMENT EVIDENCE-BASED, TRAUMA-INFORMED, RECOVERY- SUPPORTING, AND CULTURALLY-SENSITIVE AND RESPONSIVE STRATEGIES IDENTIFIED IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN, SUCH AS TEST EVERYWHERE, INTEGRATED SCREENINGS AND SERVICE LINKAGES, RAPID ART, ERASE, PEER MENTORING, INTENSIVE CASE MANAGEMENT, AND RELAPSE PREVENTION THERAPY. 5. EVALUATE PROJECT PERFORMANCE: ASSESS PROJECT PERFORMANCE, MONITOR AND EVALUATE PROJECT ACTIVITIES, OUTCOMES AND DISPARITY IMPACT STATEMENT ON AN ONGOING BASIS, TO INFORM ADJUSTMENTS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND ENSURE CONTINUAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT.