What does the current system of HIV/AIDS care look like in Travis County? How can service providers join forces to improve services to minority and other underserved populations? On September 26, the HIV Wellness Center will host the Minority Initiative Summit for representatives of the area’s HIV organizations, to be moderated by Shannon Jones, assistant director of public health at the Austin-Travis County Health Department. The meeting will examine the current state of services; how the priorities and efforts relate to minority populations; and what interagency collaboration or actions can improve the services provided to communities of color.
The issues to be discussed include:
Directions suggested by contemporary HIV/AIDS data about communities of color;
Exploration of services developed specifically to address minority populations;
Agencies’ staff, and resource needs that would improve service effectiveness;
Staff and resources that could be shared in cooperative endeavors. The intent is to develop a summit report containing:
A description of the existing system of care and how it addresses current data on communities of color;
Identification of possible matches of resource availability with indicated needs;
Recommendations for advancing or implementing Summit concerns.
The meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 26, from 10am- 3 pm at Kleberg Hall at St. George’s Episcopal Church, next door to HIV Wellness Center, 4301-B North I-35. For more information, call 467-0088.
— Sandy Bartlett,
Community Information/Education CoordinatorAIDS Services of Austin
This article appears in September 21 • 2001.