Empower behavioral health: a minority health syndemic response - the GAY and lesbian community center of southern nevada (the center) proposes to implement the empower behavioral health: a minority…

Empower behavioral health: a minority health syndemic response - the GAY and lesbian community center of southern nevada (the center) proposes to implement the empower behavioral health: a minority health syndemic response project. This initiative will enable the agency to devote significant resources to expanding its capacity to serve clients with HIV/stis and/or substance use disorder (SUD)/CO-occurring diagnoses (COD). In partnership with three collaborators, the center will serve 380+ individuals through intensive, integrated SUD and HIV/STI prevention, education, and treatment, plus additional education/prevention offerings for populations at elevated risk for both. The agency will also bolster its capacity to perform quality care and respond to the SUD and HIV/STI syndemic in clark county, NEV. (EHE priority jurisdiction). The populations of focus are: 1) black, latino, and american indian/alaskan native men who have SEX with men (MSM); 2) youth aged 13-24 years; and 3) people who inject drugs (PWID). Participants will be located in clark county, nevada (an EHE priority jurisdiction). Per agency data, 38% of participants will be white, 21% will be black, 7% will be asian, 2% will be native american/alaska native, 1% will be native hawaiian/pacific islander, and 29% will be some other race. Also, 30% will be hispanic. About 71% of clients will be male, and 29% will be female. About one-third (33%) will identify as GAY or lesbian, and 44% as heterosexual. More than one quarter (28.8%) will be men who have SEX with men (MSM). English is the primary language spoken by 66.3% of county residents. Empower behavioral health will serve at least 380 individuals during the five-year project period (year 1: 50; year 2: 60; year 3: 75; year 4: 90; year 5: 105). Services will be tailored to the individual needs of clients who live with or are at risk for SUD and/or HIV/stis. The center's newly-expanded care team will provide substance use prevention and treatment services (creation of an intensive outpatient program to include outreach, screening/assessment for SUD/COD, clinical treatment, mat/moud); HIV/STI prevention, education, and treatment; case management; peer support; and harm reduction services. In complement, the agency will strengthen its infrastructure to perform quality care and respond to the local SUD and HIV/STI syndemic through activities like an organizational readiness assessment and employee training and workforce development. The agency will also implement four allowable activities: a communication campaign, a contingency management program, recovery housing (via partners), and supportive counseling/motivational interviewing. Goals: (1) increase access to holistic, integrated syndemic prevention and treatment for SUD/OUD/CO-occurring behavioral health conditions and HIV/stis. Build a model centered on reaching/serving sexual, gender, racial, and ethnic minority populations at elevated risk for syndemic health disparities. Abridged objectives include a) increase the center's linkage to care staff by 50%; B) increase individuals tested for HIV/stis by 20% by the end of the five-year term; C) increase individuals participating in recovery groups 33% by the end of the five years; (D) increase individuals participating in peer support services by 33% at the end of five years; (E) by the end of year one, 53% of clients linked to recovery housing will exit their housing program successfully; and (F) at least 75% of IOP clients will participate successfully in contingency management. (2) increase the center's capacity and overall community capacity to identify individuals at-risk for syndemic SUD/OUD/COD and HIV/stis, link them into holistic individualized treatment, and simultaneously strengthen prevention efforts. Abridged objectives include a) increase harm reduction reach by increasing dispenses from vending machines by 30% increase by the end of the five-year term; B) increase harm reduction reach by increasing units of naloxone and fentanyl test strips distributed by 10%.