The Amida Care Fund at Stonewall Community Foundation Announces 2021 Grant Awards for HIV/AIDS Initiatives at NYC Community Organizations
New York, NY (December 9, 2021) - The Amida Care Fund at Stonewall Community Foundation announced today that it has awarded a total of $20,000 in grant funding for innovative HIV prevention and services to five community-based organizations to help them continue their important work in the communities they serve. The 2021 grantees are Brooklyn Community Pride Center, Colectivo Intercultural TRANSgrediendo, NEW Pride Agenda, Translatinx Network, and Trinity Place Shelter. Grantees will receive grants ranging from $3-5,000 each and were selected based on their outstanding work to address HIV/AIDS in LGBTQ communities throughout New York City.
Amida Care, the largest Medicaid Special Needs Health Plan in New York, serves over 9,000 members affected by HIV. The Amida Care Fund at Stonewall Community Foundation was established as part of Amida Care’s privately funded Live Your Life wellness program and is focused on supporting work that advances the goal of Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in New York State.
The Fund supports HIV education, prevention, intervention, and treatment programs that engage New Yorkers who are disproportionately impacted by HIV—such as young gay and bisexual men of color and people of transgender experience—and those who are HIV-positive but not virally suppressed or receiving necessary access to care. Grantees may also use funds for emergency activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated operating expense needs.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a harsh light on ongoing health disparities—including higher rates of HIV—that communities of color, the LGBTQ community, and other less-resourced populations have experienced for decades. Amida Care is proud to work in partnership with Stonewall Community Foundation to recognize and support organizations that do invaluable on-the-ground work to reach these communities and break down barriers they face to accessing quality health care,” said Doug Wirth, President and CEO of Amida Care. “We can’t end the HIV epidemic in New York without the essential community-based health services that these organizations provide, which address challenges that affect health, such as poverty, unemployment, unstable housing, and food insecurity, while providing access to HIV testing, treatment, and HIV prevention methods like PrEP.”
“The past year has seen our grantee partners continue to provide life-saving services for vulnerable New Yorkers, often with reduced funding and other resources,” said Jarrett Lucas, Executive Director of Stonewall Community Foundation. “We are proud to partner with Amida Care to support these organizations.”
Grant awards support a range of HIV-related programs and services:
Brooklyn Community Pride Center provides services and support to the borough’s LGBTQ community through original programming and partnerships with other organizations. Across the spectrum from young people to elders, Brooklyn Community Pride Center enables LGBTQ New Yorkers to actively participate in positive, lifeaffirming activities, offering a distinctive choice for residents of New York City’s largest borough to celebrate, heal, learn, create, organize, relax, socialize, and play.
Colectivo Intercultural TRANSgrediendo (CIT) works for the trans Latinx community to have full access to culturally relevant health and human services through support groups, referrals, and advocacy. CIT will use Amida Care funding to raise awareness among trans Latina sex workers about HIV transmission and the importance of knowing their HIV status, connect their members to testing resources, and empower them to access PrEP and PEP without fear.
NEW Pride Agenda is a nonprofit education and advocacy organization whose mission is to set and frame the new policy agenda and focus areas for LGBTQIA rights in the State of New York. Working with a diverse network of communities and elected officials, NPA serves to educate members of the LGBTQIA community and allies, as well as the general public, about our legal protections and rights.
Translatinx Network is a network of transgender individuals whose aim is to promote the healthy development of trans people through outreach, education, and capacity building, allowing the creation of a safe, productive, and equitable environment. The grant award will support the program’s HIV education, employment, and community outreach activities targeting transgender women of color, who are disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic.
Trinity Place Shelter supports homeless LGBTQ youth and young adults in New York City to safely transition out of the shelter system and grow into independent, positive, and productive adults. The Fund’s grant award will help to support the 10-bed shelter that provides LGBTQ homeless youth with a safe place to sleep and eat, and connects them to transportation, counseling, HIV prevention, and health services.
The Fund’s grant selection committee is composed of Amida Care executives, senior staff, and members of the health plan. Committee members have many years of experience working directly with HIV-affected populations in New York and an in-depth understanding of the communities served by the grant recipients. Amida Care’s goal is to continue to raise more money to increase the Fund and expand financial support for this critical work. To donate, please visit http://www.amidacareny.org/about-us/support-our-work/.