Community Health Internship: Missoula AIDS council
During the summer of 2008, I had the opportunity to do an internship through the Missoula AIDS council. I worked under the supervision of Christa Weathers, who was the head Prevention Coordinator at that time. Throughout my internship, I attended a workshop for HIV testing and was able to gain some experience doing free HIV tests. At the beginning of my internship, I was very proud and excited be working with the Missoula AIDS council crew, and I quickly learned how dedicated the staff was to helping the community, not only through HIV testing, but through community outreach programs targeting youth and safe sex practices. The main project that Christa assigned for me during my internship was developing a grant proposal for a youth outreach program called Community PROMISE. My tasks included describing the target population, allocating money and services needed for the program, developing a timeline for program activities, and establishing goals for Community PROMISE. The Missoula AIDS council is highly dependent upon volunteer services and grants, so the task at hand was rather daunting and challenging. However, I am proud to say that I was approved for a $5,000 YAMI grant to help implement Community PROMISE. I had a wonderful time interning with MAC, and I hope that my future profession in community nutrition will somehow bring me back around those amazing people. Below is the actual grant proposal that I submitted to YAMI.
YAMI GRANT: Application
Applicant Personal Information
Name: Sherry Winchell
Partnering Organization Information
Company: Missoula AIDS Council
Address: 500 North Higgins Suite100
City: Missoula AIDS Council State: MT Zip: 59802
Telephone: 406-543-4770
Contact Name: Keri McWilliams Title: Executive Director
Christa Weathers Title: Prevention Coordinator
Email: [email protected] Phone: 406-543-4770
Executive Summary
Our proposed project is based on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-approved intervention called Community PROMISE. Community PROMISE (CP) is a peer-based program targeting youth ages 15-24 in Montana. The focus of CP is to identify role models who are willing to share stories that influence healthy behaviors. Role models will include youth who are avoiding HIV and STD’s through decisions to have safe sex. Role model stories will be distributed by a group of peer mentors who will provide education and encourage peers to be tested for HIV. The overall goal of CP is to positively influence social norms, behaviors, and attitudes that contribute to making healthy decisions. The behaviors that we hope to influence include delaying sexual activity, reducing the number of sexual partners, condom use, condom carrying, and routine HIV and STD testing and counseling.
This project is important because Community PROMISE is a scientifically researched intervention proven to be effective through peer education and mentoring. According to the CDC, young adults and teens, under the age of 25, continue to be at risk for HIV, and most young people are infected through unprotected sex1. CP programs have proven that encouraging safe sexual behaviors through peer mentoring can successfully change social norms. Also, youth who learn through peer education that safe sex is normal are more likely to make healthy decisions. Furthermore, peer-based programs guarantee access to the social networks of the target population, which allow youth to share positive information and influence their peers.
I am qualified to execute this program, through the guidance of the Missoula AIDS Council, for several reasons. I am a senior at the University of Montana pursuing a degree in Health and Human Performance with an option in Applied Health. Through my education, I have experience creating health promotion programs and I am a certified Peer Health Educator. The skills I have gained through school and my ability to easily access to the target population, will allow me to help organize the program and promote community involvement. I am committed to the purpose behind Community PROMISE, and reaching out to people and helping them make a difference within their community motivates me. I want to touch people’s lives and help them enjoy a happy, healthy lifestyle.
Community PROMISE is going to impact lives because it provides positive role models who perpetuate the use of healthy behaviors when confronted with negative influences. Our goal is to create a sense of support and belonging on high school and college campuses and encourage youth to discuss sexual health. Peer mentoring will encourage youth to seek HIV and STD testing, counseling, and referral services on a regular basis. The benefits of this program extend beyond just the target population. Peer mentors will gain fulfillment in seeing the positive influence that they have on their peers and provide them with leadership skills that will help bring success in their future careers.
Proposed Program
The purpose of Community PROMISE (CP) is to reduce risk factors for HIV in our target population, youth ages 15-24. Risk behaviors include lack of condom use/condom carrying, pursuing multiple sexual partners, drug and alcohol use, and failing to practice routine HIV/STD testing and counseling. For this program to be successful, members of the TP should perceive safe sexual decisions as the social norm and openly communicate about these risk behaviors with one another. Social norms will be influenced by “Peer Role Models” that will be recruited to share their stories of personal life experiences and positive behavior change. These stories will be shared through social networks by Peer Mentors who work closely with Missoula AIDS Council.
The need for a program like CP is demonstrated by recent statistics that show continually increasing rates of youth in the U.S. contracting HIV/AIDS. An estimated 4,883 young people received a diagnosis of HIV infection or AIDS in 2004, representing about 13% of the persons given a diagnosis during that year. Also, we saw a 42% increase in the number of young people living with AIDS between 2000 and 20042. One factor contributing to these increasing rates is the presence of STD’s. STD’s greatly increase a person’s likelihood of acquiring or transmitting HIV4. Some of the highest STD rates in the country are those among young people3. These statistics confirm that young people are continuing to engage in behaviors that put them at risk for HIV. Another 2004 report explains that young people in the U.S. use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs at high rates8. This is dangerous because both casual and chronic substance users are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol5. Without confronting these behavioral risks, the rates of HIV and STD’s will only continue to increase.
Community PROMISE will contribute to the partnering organization by furthering their mission to prevent the transmission of HIV while advocating for and supporting individuals currently living with HIV/AIDS. Missoula AIDS Council serves our community through case management services, prevention programs, and collaborations with city, county, and state departments, and tribal councils. MAC and CP go hand-in-hand because they hold a unified vision; to live in a community free of new HIV infections and related stigma.
Target Population
The target population of CP is high risk heterosexual (HRH) youth, young gay males, and youth who are beginning to experiment with sexual activities. HRH youth are defined as young adults who are having sex and/or multiple sex partners, not using condoms, using drugs and/or alcohol, and are in detention centers, and includes youth ages 15-24 living in Missoula, MT. Role model stories will target one of these specific groups. Gaining access to these groups will be possible by utilizing the social networks of our identified peer mentors.
Our immediate and measurable goals for CP include recruiting five role models who will share their stories, ten peer mentors to disseminate the stories via hard copy and electronic versions and reaching 300 youth with these stories within the first six months of implementation. The launch of Community PROMISE will take place prior to September 18, 2008 when 75 panels from the NAMES project AIDS Memorial Quilt that will be displayed in Missoula by Missoula AIDS Council and the University of Montana.
The effectiveness of CP will be measured by surveying the completion of these initial goals and evaluations will be distributed to role models, peer mentors, and recipients of the role model stories to measure the positive impact of the stories. Our strategy for implementation our program includes the use of social marketing. We will create printed media campaigns, as well as electronic messages that can be passed via e-mail and easily be distributed through social networks of youth.
Program Staff
The proposed staffing for Community PROMISE will be one program manager, one outreach worker, ten peer mentors, and five role models. Christa Weathers will be the program manager for the program. She is the Prevention Coordinator for the Missoula AIDS Council and has a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology. Before working for the Missoula AIDS Council, Christa was in Africa for four months working in AIDS education for youth, and she has been at MAC for three months. The position of outreach worker will be fulfilled through my internship with the Missoula AIDS Council. The peer mentors and role models will be high school and college students who have been screened and recruited before the launch of the program.
Collaborations/Partnerships
Community PROMISE will be strengthened through several collaborations in the community that will provide access to our target population. The Flagship program provides positive development for high school students who need skills to avoid high-risk behaviors. CP will help Flagship actively reinforce these same skills. The Boys and Girls Club of Missoula will assist CP by gathering youth who need a place where they can have fun, but also gain a sense of positive influence. Planned Parenthood will connect CP with young women seeking information about their sexual and reproductive health. Futures, a program of WORD (Women’s Opportunity and Resource Development), will provide a possible connection with teen parents. Finally, we will with peer education groups at the University of Montana to access the target population and recruit mentors.
This proposal is important because there are no similar programs being implemented for youth ages 15-24 in Missoula. We hope that Cable Positive will help us create a youth-initiated program that will have a positive impact on youth in western Montana.
Overview of Missoula AIDS Council
Missoula AIDS Council was formed in 1985 and incorporated in 1989 as a nonprofit organization. The mission of our agency is to prevent the transmission of HIV while advocating for and supporting individuals currently living with HIV/AIDS. Key achievements include conducting over 500 HIV tests among individuals most at risk of contracting HIV throughout the state of Montana and providing safe, decent and affordable housing for 67 individuals living with HIV/AIDS and 19 additional family members in Western Montana. The Missoula AIDS Council has nine established programs with four main categories: prevention, awareness and outreach, education, and client services. The Youth Survival Program is an educational program of our agency that has been implemented statewide as an effective HIV prevention intervention, and it continues to be updated and improved as the risk factors among this population change.
Current goals include bringing the largest display of the NAMES project AIDS Memorial Quilt to the University of Montana campus and raising over $30,000 in additional funding for direct services. Expansion of the Speaker’s Bureau is also a top priority because it provides such a powerful and emotional testimony to our community. In addition, the Council is working to create a Gay and Bi Men’s Advisory Council to the organization.
Organizational Structure
The organizational structure includes an Executive Director, a Prevention Coordinator, two employees who oversee the Montana Targeted Prevention (MTAP) program, fourteen outreach workers across the state of Montana and two employees who manage the housing program. Our agency relies heavily on intern and volunteer support for our HIV testing and counseling services.
Demographics
Montana’s demographics play an important role in determining the specific needs of our population. Currently there are 492 individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Montana, and 35% of these individuals are 13-29 years old. Missoula County has the second highest rate of infection in the state7. As of 2004, 13.6% of Montana’s population is living below the poverty line9 and primarily a rural population6, making access to services more challenging. This data is important because it helps Community PROMISE identify specific attitudes and behaviors that affect our local community. Montana is largely rural and under the poverty line, which makes people believe that HIV does not affect us, which is very dangerous.
Partnerships
Collaborations with organizations in our community strengthen our agency’s work and allows for the most efficient use of resources possible. Those collaborators include FDH & Assoc. and the Montana Gay Men’s Task Force, Partnership Health, and the Poverello Center. The Missoula AIDS Council works with FDH & Assoc. to provide services specific to gay and bisexual men in our community, MAC provides additional services for this population, but also offers help for intravenous drug users and heterosexuals. Partnership Health provides health care to underserved populations in our region. Together, MAC and Partnership provide preliminary and confirmatory testing and counseling for HIV. The Poverello Center is Montana’s largest emergency homeless shelter, and our agency provides free testing at this sites. Together, we work to act as a dynamic referral system for people who need our services.
Organizational Budget
Missoula AIDS Council’s organizational budget is $630,000. Greater than 97% of our budget is dedicated to direct services. In 2007, only 2.04% of our total budget covered administrative costs and fundraising.
Works Cited
Applicant Personal Information
Name: Sherry Winchell
Partnering Organization Information
Company: Missoula AIDS Council
Address: 500 North Higgins Suite100
City: Missoula AIDS Council State: MT Zip: 59802
Telephone: 406-543-4770
Contact Name: Keri McWilliams Title: Executive Director
Christa Weathers Title: Prevention Coordinator
Email: [email protected] Phone: 406-543-4770
Executive Summary
Our proposed project is based on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-approved intervention called Community PROMISE. Community PROMISE (CP) is a peer-based program targeting youth ages 15-24 in Montana. The focus of CP is to identify role models who are willing to share stories that influence healthy behaviors. Role models will include youth who are avoiding HIV and STD’s through decisions to have safe sex. Role model stories will be distributed by a group of peer mentors who will provide education and encourage peers to be tested for HIV. The overall goal of CP is to positively influence social norms, behaviors, and attitudes that contribute to making healthy decisions. The behaviors that we hope to influence include delaying sexual activity, reducing the number of sexual partners, condom use, condom carrying, and routine HIV and STD testing and counseling.
This project is important because Community PROMISE is a scientifically researched intervention proven to be effective through peer education and mentoring. According to the CDC, young adults and teens, under the age of 25, continue to be at risk for HIV, and most young people are infected through unprotected sex1. CP programs have proven that encouraging safe sexual behaviors through peer mentoring can successfully change social norms. Also, youth who learn through peer education that safe sex is normal are more likely to make healthy decisions. Furthermore, peer-based programs guarantee access to the social networks of the target population, which allow youth to share positive information and influence their peers.
I am qualified to execute this program, through the guidance of the Missoula AIDS Council, for several reasons. I am a senior at the University of Montana pursuing a degree in Health and Human Performance with an option in Applied Health. Through my education, I have experience creating health promotion programs and I am a certified Peer Health Educator. The skills I have gained through school and my ability to easily access to the target population, will allow me to help organize the program and promote community involvement. I am committed to the purpose behind Community PROMISE, and reaching out to people and helping them make a difference within their community motivates me. I want to touch people’s lives and help them enjoy a happy, healthy lifestyle.
Community PROMISE is going to impact lives because it provides positive role models who perpetuate the use of healthy behaviors when confronted with negative influences. Our goal is to create a sense of support and belonging on high school and college campuses and encourage youth to discuss sexual health. Peer mentoring will encourage youth to seek HIV and STD testing, counseling, and referral services on a regular basis. The benefits of this program extend beyond just the target population. Peer mentors will gain fulfillment in seeing the positive influence that they have on their peers and provide them with leadership skills that will help bring success in their future careers.
Proposed Program
The purpose of Community PROMISE (CP) is to reduce risk factors for HIV in our target population, youth ages 15-24. Risk behaviors include lack of condom use/condom carrying, pursuing multiple sexual partners, drug and alcohol use, and failing to practice routine HIV/STD testing and counseling. For this program to be successful, members of the TP should perceive safe sexual decisions as the social norm and openly communicate about these risk behaviors with one another. Social norms will be influenced by “Peer Role Models” that will be recruited to share their stories of personal life experiences and positive behavior change. These stories will be shared through social networks by Peer Mentors who work closely with Missoula AIDS Council.
The need for a program like CP is demonstrated by recent statistics that show continually increasing rates of youth in the U.S. contracting HIV/AIDS. An estimated 4,883 young people received a diagnosis of HIV infection or AIDS in 2004, representing about 13% of the persons given a diagnosis during that year. Also, we saw a 42% increase in the number of young people living with AIDS between 2000 and 20042. One factor contributing to these increasing rates is the presence of STD’s. STD’s greatly increase a person’s likelihood of acquiring or transmitting HIV4. Some of the highest STD rates in the country are those among young people3. These statistics confirm that young people are continuing to engage in behaviors that put them at risk for HIV. Another 2004 report explains that young people in the U.S. use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs at high rates8. This is dangerous because both casual and chronic substance users are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol5. Without confronting these behavioral risks, the rates of HIV and STD’s will only continue to increase.
Community PROMISE will contribute to the partnering organization by furthering their mission to prevent the transmission of HIV while advocating for and supporting individuals currently living with HIV/AIDS. Missoula AIDS Council serves our community through case management services, prevention programs, and collaborations with city, county, and state departments, and tribal councils. MAC and CP go hand-in-hand because they hold a unified vision; to live in a community free of new HIV infections and related stigma.
Target Population
The target population of CP is high risk heterosexual (HRH) youth, young gay males, and youth who are beginning to experiment with sexual activities. HRH youth are defined as young adults who are having sex and/or multiple sex partners, not using condoms, using drugs and/or alcohol, and are in detention centers, and includes youth ages 15-24 living in Missoula, MT. Role model stories will target one of these specific groups. Gaining access to these groups will be possible by utilizing the social networks of our identified peer mentors.
Our immediate and measurable goals for CP include recruiting five role models who will share their stories, ten peer mentors to disseminate the stories via hard copy and electronic versions and reaching 300 youth with these stories within the first six months of implementation. The launch of Community PROMISE will take place prior to September 18, 2008 when 75 panels from the NAMES project AIDS Memorial Quilt that will be displayed in Missoula by Missoula AIDS Council and the University of Montana.
The effectiveness of CP will be measured by surveying the completion of these initial goals and evaluations will be distributed to role models, peer mentors, and recipients of the role model stories to measure the positive impact of the stories. Our strategy for implementation our program includes the use of social marketing. We will create printed media campaigns, as well as electronic messages that can be passed via e-mail and easily be distributed through social networks of youth.
Program Staff
The proposed staffing for Community PROMISE will be one program manager, one outreach worker, ten peer mentors, and five role models. Christa Weathers will be the program manager for the program. She is the Prevention Coordinator for the Missoula AIDS Council and has a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology. Before working for the Missoula AIDS Council, Christa was in Africa for four months working in AIDS education for youth, and she has been at MAC for three months. The position of outreach worker will be fulfilled through my internship with the Missoula AIDS Council. The peer mentors and role models will be high school and college students who have been screened and recruited before the launch of the program.
Collaborations/Partnerships
Community PROMISE will be strengthened through several collaborations in the community that will provide access to our target population. The Flagship program provides positive development for high school students who need skills to avoid high-risk behaviors. CP will help Flagship actively reinforce these same skills. The Boys and Girls Club of Missoula will assist CP by gathering youth who need a place where they can have fun, but also gain a sense of positive influence. Planned Parenthood will connect CP with young women seeking information about their sexual and reproductive health. Futures, a program of WORD (Women’s Opportunity and Resource Development), will provide a possible connection with teen parents. Finally, we will with peer education groups at the University of Montana to access the target population and recruit mentors.
This proposal is important because there are no similar programs being implemented for youth ages 15-24 in Missoula. We hope that Cable Positive will help us create a youth-initiated program that will have a positive impact on youth in western Montana.
Overview of Missoula AIDS Council
Missoula AIDS Council was formed in 1985 and incorporated in 1989 as a nonprofit organization. The mission of our agency is to prevent the transmission of HIV while advocating for and supporting individuals currently living with HIV/AIDS. Key achievements include conducting over 500 HIV tests among individuals most at risk of contracting HIV throughout the state of Montana and providing safe, decent and affordable housing for 67 individuals living with HIV/AIDS and 19 additional family members in Western Montana. The Missoula AIDS Council has nine established programs with four main categories: prevention, awareness and outreach, education, and client services. The Youth Survival Program is an educational program of our agency that has been implemented statewide as an effective HIV prevention intervention, and it continues to be updated and improved as the risk factors among this population change.
Current goals include bringing the largest display of the NAMES project AIDS Memorial Quilt to the University of Montana campus and raising over $30,000 in additional funding for direct services. Expansion of the Speaker’s Bureau is also a top priority because it provides such a powerful and emotional testimony to our community. In addition, the Council is working to create a Gay and Bi Men’s Advisory Council to the organization.
Organizational Structure
The organizational structure includes an Executive Director, a Prevention Coordinator, two employees who oversee the Montana Targeted Prevention (MTAP) program, fourteen outreach workers across the state of Montana and two employees who manage the housing program. Our agency relies heavily on intern and volunteer support for our HIV testing and counseling services.
Demographics
Montana’s demographics play an important role in determining the specific needs of our population. Currently there are 492 individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Montana, and 35% of these individuals are 13-29 years old. Missoula County has the second highest rate of infection in the state7. As of 2004, 13.6% of Montana’s population is living below the poverty line9 and primarily a rural population6, making access to services more challenging. This data is important because it helps Community PROMISE identify specific attitudes and behaviors that affect our local community. Montana is largely rural and under the poverty line, which makes people believe that HIV does not affect us, which is very dangerous.
Partnerships
Collaborations with organizations in our community strengthen our agency’s work and allows for the most efficient use of resources possible. Those collaborators include FDH & Assoc. and the Montana Gay Men’s Task Force, Partnership Health, and the Poverello Center. The Missoula AIDS Council works with FDH & Assoc. to provide services specific to gay and bisexual men in our community, MAC provides additional services for this population, but also offers help for intravenous drug users and heterosexuals. Partnership Health provides health care to underserved populations in our region. Together, MAC and Partnership provide preliminary and confirmatory testing and counseling for HIV. The Poverello Center is Montana’s largest emergency homeless shelter, and our agency provides free testing at this sites. Together, we work to act as a dynamic referral system for people who need our services.
Organizational Budget
Missoula AIDS Council’s organizational budget is $630,000. Greater than 97% of our budget is dedicated to direct services. In 2007, only 2.04% of our total budget covered administrative costs and fundraising.
Works Cited
- CDC HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2004. Vol. 16. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC: 2005:1–46.
- CDC. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2004. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2005.
- Fleming DT, Wasserheit JN. From epidemiological synergy to public health policy and practice: the contribution of other sexually transmitted diseases to sexual transmission of HIV infection. Sexually Transmitted Infections 1999;75:3–17.
- Leigh BC, Stall R. Substance use and risky sexual behavior for exposure to HIV: issues in methodology, interpretation, and prevention. American Psychologist 1993;48:1035–1045.
- Montana Demographics, Census 2000. http://montana.gov.
- MT DPHHS. Communicable Disease Epidemiology Program. May 2008.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 2004 National Survey on Drug Use & Health.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2004. http://quickfacts.census.gov.