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PEER Center News

Funding Opportunity: 9 Southern States Targeted by National AIDS Fund Grant

Application Deadline: Oct. 15, 2010

The National AIDS Fund (NAF), in collaboration with the Ford Foundation, is pleased to announce the opportunity for grant support through the Southern REACH (Regional Expansion of Access and Capacity to Address HIV/AIDS) initiative. The overarching goal of this initiative is to protect and advance the health, human rights, and dignity of persons most affected by HIV/AIDS in the Southern U.S.

Peer-Related Ryan White Grantee Meeting Workshops

Going to the Ryan White Grantee Meeting in Washington this month? We are presenting several workshops and more that you won't want to miss!

Gender Auditing the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy

Women and gender-focused HIV advocacy organizations from around the U.S. and Canada, including WORLD, part of the Lotus Project, created a Gender Monitoring Toolkit and Report Card to evaluate and monitor the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) from a human rights and gender perspective.  The purpose of the tool is to analyze the extent to which the U.S.

Take the Test: BABES Peer Gets the Word Out

Tonya Rasberry, a peer at BABES Network-YWCA in Seattle, was featured in this Seattle Times article published in connection with HIV testing day:

View Seattle Times article

Tonya participated in the training of trainers workshop put on by the Lotus Project in Oakland, CA in September 2009.

USCA Workshop: Beyond Meds and Labs: A Practical Guide to Nutrition, Health and Wellness

Congratulations to Valerie Wojciechowicz who has been selected as a presenter at the 2010 United States Conference on AIDS in Orlando. Valerie is a long-time consumer advocate within her community and the state of Florida as a Statewide Consumer Advisory Group Member and an educator for the Manatee County Health Department. She participated in PEER Center/PETS-sponsored capacity-building and training-of-trainers workshops in February and has secured some seed money to start a peer program at Community AIDS Network (CAN), an AIDS service organization in Sarasota.

USCA Workshop: Tools for Successful Peer Education

Lotus Project staff will present the following workshop at the USCA Conference in Orlando, FL:

Wednesday, September 15 9:30-11:30 a.m.

USCA Workshop: Supervising HIV-Positive Peers

The PEER Center and Peer Education Training Sites will be presentating a joint workshop titled Supervising HIV-Positive Peers in a Health Care Setting.

Tuesday, September 14, 9:30 am - 11:30 a.m. (Session 3)

Letter from Elton John to Ryan White

"Twenty years ago this month, you died of AIDS. I would gladly give my fame and fortune if only I could have one more conversation with you, the friend who changed my life as well as the lives of millions living with HIV. Instead, I have written you this letter. "

Read Elton John's letter to Ryan White on the Washington Post website

Poster presentation at IAPAC Conference: Interdisciplinary Medication Adherence Clinic

The Interdisciplinary Medication Adherence Clinic at the Kansas City Free Health Clinic (KCFree) includes pharmacists, peer educators and providers working together to help clients who are considered at high-risk for non-adherence. KC Free staff described this program in a poster presentation entitled An Interdisciplinary Medication Adherence Clinic Utilizing Pharmacists and Peer Educators at the International Conference on HIV Treatment Adherence in Miami May 23 - 25.


View abstract

Peer Training workshop at Voices conference

At the Voices conference in May, staff from the Peer Education Training Sites presented a workshop entitled Building Blocks for Peer Success: A Toolkit for Training HIV Positive Peers.

New Journal Article: Peer Knowledge and Roles

Staff from the PEER Center and Peer Education Training Sites collaborated to create a peer-reviewed journal article that describes the knowledge and roles of working/volunteering HIV-positive peers prior to training through the PETS/REC initiative and recommends areas for further enhancements in HIV peer education. The article, entitled "Peer Knowledge and Roles in Supporting Access to Care and Treatment," was published in the Journal of Community Health on March 19, 2010 and can be accessed through their open access program.

Lotus consultant's article on peer supervision in The Source

The Source is a bi-annual magazine published by the AIA Resource Center, an organization dedicated to "helping professionals help families affected by drugs and HIV." The Spring 2010 issue, devoted to peer mentors, includes an article by Janie M. Riley entitled "A Supportive Approach to Supervision for Peers Living with HIV." Janie is a licensed marriage family therapist, clinical supervisor, and
consultant to WORLD and the Center for Health Training’s Lotus Project.

Partner Organization Staff Named to Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

Several staff members from organizations collaborating with the PEER Center have been appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). The council was established in 1995 to provide policy recommendations on the U.S. Government's response to the AIDS epidemic.

New Oral Health and HIV Module for Peer Facilitators

A new module designed to train peers to teach HIV-positive clients about the importance of oral health in their overall care has been incorporated into the Building Blocks to Peer Success toolkit. As a standalone module, the training is intended as a workshop lasting 3 hours and 15 minutes and includes information about the HIV Life Cycle, action of HIV medications, oral health hygiene practices and oral health manifestations of HIV disease.

Building Blocks to Peer Program Success Toolkit now Available

The PEER Center and the Peer Education Training Sites are announcing the release of the Building Blocks to Peer Program Success toolkit. This toolkit is a capacity building resource for organizations and communities who desire to develop or enhance peer programs. The toolkit provides a framework to successfully utilize peers to engage and retain people living with HIV/AIDS in care and treatment.

Recording for HRSA Webcast "Training Peers to Support Clients..." available

On August 5, 2009 the PEER Center and Peer Education Training Sites conducted a Webcast hosted by the HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau on August 5 entitled Training Peers to Support Clients in HIV Care and Treatment.

To access the recording of this Webcast, visit the HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau Web/Audio Conferences page and click the "Recording" button next to the listing for the August 5 Webcast.

The presentation slides are also available.

Help available for your Ryan White quality management plan

The National Quality Center /NQC (a quality improvement initiative funded through the Human Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau) is helping link Ryan White grantees with one another to provide expertise in integrating key quality measures into existing data systems. Here is an excerpt from the May NQC eNewsletter:

HRSA Webcast "The Role of Peers in HIV Care and Treatment": recording and slides available:

On April 15, 2009 the PEER Center and the Peer Education Training Sites presented a Webcast about the roles of peers in providing HIV Care and Treatment. About 120 participants attended the event.

U.S. GAO releases report on Ryan White Minority AIDS Initiative provisions

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report entitled "Ryan White CARE Act: Implementation of the New Minority AIDS Initiative Provisions." This report details how changes in the funding structure of the Ryan White CARE Act has altered the programs and services delivered by grantees.

View GAO report