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Peers support families living with HIV at Christie’s Place 

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CHRISTIE’S PLACE RECEIVES GRANT
FROM AIDS UNITED TO IMPROVE
ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE FOR REGION

san diego - based organization receives funding
to help end national aids epidemic

(San Diego, CA) -- February 4, 2011 –Hundreds of women living with HIV/AIDS in San Diego will now receive local, high quality care, thanks to a new grant awarded to Christie’s Place by AIDS United.   The Christie’s Place grant is one of 10 awards granted to communities across the country by AIDS United to support its Access to Care (A2C) initiative. The awards are all supported by a federal grant to AIDS United from the Social
Innovation Fund (SIF) to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS.

 The grant to Christie’s Place from AIDS United will support the development of the Comprehensive & Integrated HIV Services for Women (CIHSW) project.  Christie’s Place will lead CIHSW, a collaborative of organizations that will function as a network of care model to improve timely entry, access to and retention in HIV care for women of color living with HIV in San Diego County, with an emphasis on the underserved communities of Latinas. This project will improve the utilization of HIV medical care and treatment by women of color and strengthen the health care and social services systems and community linkages by expanding the capacity of a Peer Navigator network to serve at new clinic sites and through a mobile, home-based model; training HIV-positive women on accessing and utilizing their electronic medical records to increase their self-efficacy; creating systems-level change by establishing a Center of Excellence in Women’s HIV Care clinic with integrated behavioral health care and expanded bilingual capacity and hours of operation; formalizing partnerships with immigration rights and social justice organizations to provide education and legal advocacy to HIV-positive women who lack access to care and treatment; and increasing access to clinical care through enhanced transportation and childcare options. Collaborating partners include: American Friends Service Committee, Casa Cornelia Legal Services, Center for Health Training Resources Group, North County Health Services, University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Antiviral Research Center, UCSD Mother, Child and Adolescent Program, and UCSD Owen Clinic.

An estimated 69% of HIV+ women in San Diego County know their status and are not accessing HIV medical care. This is an alarming public health crisis that warrants significant attention. HIV/AIDS continues to disproportionately affect women of color in San Diego.  Over 1,600 women in San Diego County are living with HIV/AIDS, and those who are women of color face complex and unique challenges. Their experience of living with HIV is compounded by stigma, isolation, extreme poverty, inadequate access to health care, sub-standard housing, limited education, language barriers, mental illness, substance abuse and domestic violence. There are more than 600,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States that are not receiving the life-saving care they need.
“AIDS United is proud to be supporting the work of Christie’s Place and its community collaborators with this SIF grant,” said Mark Ishaug, AIDS United President and CEO.  “In addition to developing innovative ways to help get people living with HIV in San Diego into the care they need, Christie’s Place’s commitment to matching its grant from AIDS United with resources from the local private sector will significantly increase the funding available for critical access to care activities for San Diego’s populations most impacted by the epidemic.” 
The Social Innovation Fund targets millions of public-private dollars to expand effective solutions across three issue areas: economic opportunity, healthy futures and youth development and school support.  AIDS United’s recent $3.6 million SIF award is in support of the “healthy futures” issue area, and requires a 2:1 match from the private sector to create a funding pool of more than $10 million annually. The funding pool will aim enhance the health and welfare of people living with HIV/AIDS through interventions like the one being developed by  Christie’s Place and its community collaborators that work to increase access to life-saving HIV care and treatment.
“HIV/AIDS continues to disproportionately affect women of color in San Diego. In San Diego County 76% of recent female AIDS cases are women of color,” said Elizabeth Brosnan, Executive Director. “Our grant from AIDS United and the Social Innovation Fund, will give us the capacity to help hundreds of HIV+ women get into the life-saving care they need,” she said.  
For more information about AIDS United’s A2C Initiative, visit www.aidsunited.org/community-impact/access-to-care-a2c.


ABOUT CHRISTIE’S PLACE
Christie’s Place is a leading nonprofit organization that provides HIV/AIDS education, social services, advocacy and basic needs assistance.  Our mission is to empower women, children, and families whose lives have been impacted by HIV/AIDS to take charge of their health and well-being.  Transforming lives since 1996, Christie’s Place is the only organization in San Diego dedicated to serving women, children and families infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.  By providing comprehensive social services in a safe and welcoming environment, we encourage those we serve to improve the quality of their lives.  Christie’s Place is committed to serving with integrity, respect and dignity.

ABOUT AIDS UNITED
The mission of AIDS United is to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States. We will achieve this goal through national, regional and local policy/advocacy, strategic grantmaking, and organizational capacity building. With partners throughout the country, we will work to ensure that people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS have access to the prevention and care services they need and deserve. The creation of AIDS United combines private-sector fundraising, philanthropy, coalition building, public policy expertise, and advocacy — as well as a network of passionate local and state partners — to most effectively and efficiently respond to the disease in the communities most impacted by it.