Sisters United Now (SUN) is a project funded by the California Wellness Foundation to address the disproportionate impact of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs)/HIV/AIDS among Black and Latina women and girls.
- WORLD has partnered with East Bay Community Foundation to conduct a three-year demonstration project to document and disseminate best practices to address prevention and early intervention for Black and Latina women and girls at risk for STIs, HIV, and AIDS.
- The demonstration project partners will develop innovations for integrated prevention and early intervention services for women and girls of color who are particularly vulnerable to the STI epidemic.
WORLD is excited to convene three collaborative partners – all committed to the common goal of reducing the disproportionately high rates of HIV/AIDS/STIs among women of color. Our collaborative partners include:
- Girls Inc. of Alameda County (Girls Inc.) – Girls Inc. works to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Its vision is for all girls growing up in Alameda County to feel valued, safe, and prepared to achieve their dreams of college, career and leadership. To that end, Girls Inc. connects girls from underserved neighborhoods with access to the resources and opportunities they need to navigate gender, economic, and racial barriers, and realize their potential. Most girls identify as girls of color, with 39% identifying as Latina and 30% African American. 40% speak a language other than English at home, and 90% are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch.
- The Latina Center (TLC) – TLC’s mission is to improve the quality of life and health of the Latino community by providing leadership and personal development opportunities for all Latinas. For almost 15 years, TLC has been dedicated to improving the physical, mental and spiritual health of Latina women and their families in the Bay Area, specifically in West Contra Costa County. TLC’s transformative leadership development program and culturally and linguistically specific services provide low-income immigrant Latinas with increased self-confidence, enhanced cultural and familial ties, advocacy, social support, mentoring, and skills-based trainings that contribute to individual and family stability.
- California Prostitutes Education Project (CAL-PEP) – CAL-PEP’s philosophy is “Each one, Teach one.” The Project believes that the best approach towards prospective clients is one that is culturally and linguistically appropriate, always respectful of the client population, lifestyle and choices, and that the intervention cannot succeed when carried out in a judgmental, aggressive, or culturally naive manner. CAL-PEP’s model of service is based on one-on-one outreach and education with emphasis on the impact of HIV on high risk, hard to reach African American and Latinos, women, youth and men who have sex with men. CAL-PEP remains one of the only organizations in the U.S. that works with street sex workers (20% of clients), who include women, transgender persons and men. 83 % of clients are African American, 8% are Latino, 1% Asian/Pacific Islander and other.
Other Partners – Other supporting organizations that are not a formal part of the collaboration, but will work closely with us to achieve our objectives, are Planned Parenthood Mar Monte and Dr. Gail Wyatt, Associate Director and founder of the UCLA AIDS Institute and the Principal Investigator of the EBAN intervention.
