We have great news to share! Harm Reduction Circle just found out that we received a grant from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to develop & implement our Duel-Ended Sexual Health Initiative which aims to raise awareness of sexual health issues & broaden access to HIV testing services by providing testing at events. The Duel-Ended Sexual Health Initiative is led by Megan Murphy, Harm Reduction Circle's Sexual Health Coordinator. Visit the AIDS Healthcare Foundation Website.
“The EDM/Rave scene is traditionally overlooked as needing wrap-around harm reduction services, including sexual health services.” Annastasia Rose Beal, president & Executive Director of Harm Reduction Circle. “Our grant award enables us to develop & implement our Duel-Ended Sexual Health Initiative which aims to improve the rave scene's overall safety by combining our traditional harm reduction methodology with HIV/HCV education & through collaborations with local sexual health agencies to provide on-site HIV testing services at festivals.”
Proposed Program Details for Harm Reduction Circle’s Duel-Ended Sexual Health Initiative:
More people can be reached to avoid overdose & infectious disease transmission by targeting this community with a dual-ended harm reduction model through an organization that has already spent time building trust within the community. In each of the six states we serve, we suggest combining our traditional harm reduction methodology with HIV/HCV testing collaborations. We can expand our efforts & participation for all organizations engaged by signing Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) with local sexual health agencies across the six states. We can provide condoms & testing to the people we already serve, as well as harm reduction services to areas already served by sexual health organizations, by working together. The funds from AHF would be used to build up our teams in all six states, create teaching materials, & hire an experienced program manager to lead the rolling out of these initiatives & ensure their success. The Project Manager for Harm Reduction Circle’s Duel-Ended Sexual Health Initiative will be responsible for developing strategies & procedures & then overseeing the Duel-Ended Sexual Health Initiative from the initial planning stages through the complete implementation of a project for all six teams. Responsibilities also include oversight of financial planning & oversee regular financial audits for the project, followed by preparing reports suitable for both internal & external audiences. We want to have a fully working wrap-a-round model offering sexual health & harm reduction services across all six states within one year after obtaining the grant funding, with the objective of doubling our event reach. People who use drugs (PWUD) in the rave & EDM scenes are the program's target audience. Through our existing six teams, we hope to serve festival & show-goers throughout Arizona, California, Florida, Oregon, Texas, Utah, & other states where Harm Reduction Circle is invited to provide services. These states host some of the biggest events & have massive rave scenes in various parts of each state.
What This Means for Our Organization:
This new program enables us to supply 6 of our teams with all necessary equipment & materials to provide not only harm reduction services at events, but through the development of our Duel-Ended Sexual Health Initiative we'll be focussing on widespread sexual health education, condom distribution, & be capable of offering free HIV & Hepatitis C (HCV) testing at events upon event organizers' requests, & easily accessible resources for those within the communities we serve.
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