Communications

• Write opinion editorials to local newspapers expressing concern about the high rate of HIV in your community.

• Write articles for local papers and newsletters, highlighting the successes of local organizations in responding to the epidemic. Hold community discussions about what more can be done.

• Contact radio disc jockeys and television and newspaper journalists and ask them to report on AIDS in the African American community.

• Lobby for partnerships between AIDS service organizations and traditional community organizations.

• Hold workshops to assist community-based organizations in developing and submitting successful fundraising proposals.

Prevention

• Call the Kaiser Family Foundation at 800-656-4533 to request copies of "Talking with Kids about AIDS." Share copies of the brochure with your family and friends.

• Review the HIV education curriculum with local school officials.

• Educate yourself about AIDS and volunteer to speak at local schools, along with a representative of a health care organization.

• Ask your church, YMCA, and other community organizations to hold special discussion meetings about AIDS. The programs of the Balm in Gilead (212-730-7381) can serve as a model for these efforts (see page 11).

• Write or call your local radio and television stations to request that they broadcast more public service announcements with HIV prevention messages.

Public Policy

• Ask local public health officials for a briefing on AIDS funding. Learn which organizations receive federal, state, and local funding.

• Visit local AIDS service organizations. Meet with clients and have the staff brief you on their services and their strategies for managing increasing numbers of clients and obtaining access to new treatments.

• Brief other local organizations -- such as labor unions, local chapters of the National Urban League and the NAACP, the Coalition of 100 Black Men and Women, nursing associations, and local elected officials -- on what you have learned. Work with them to identify areas of opportunity to affect state and local public policy.

• Meet with your mayor and council members about the epidemic in your community.

• Meet with your congressional representatives to discuss why AIDS needs to be a legislative priority. Arrange a meeting between your congressional representatives and local AIDS service organizations.

• Engage your state representatives and senators in discussions about HIV prevention and treatment. Ask how they are going to ensure delivery of services under Medicaid and health care reform.

Services and Care

• Volunteer at your local hospice, pediatric AIDS unit, or AIDS service organization. Encourage your colleagues and neighbors to contribute their time as well.

• Hold a neighborhood gathering to introduce local AIDS service organizations to your friends. Emphasize that these organizations conduct prevention efforts as well as care for people with AIDS.

• Meet with community foundation presidents and ask for a briefing on how they fund local AIDS services.

• Identify ways to help foster more training for local AIDS care providers.

• Build on services and care models for other successful health-related efforts, such as childhood immunization programs and antiviolence campaigns.

  
  

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