With summer coming to a close, we wanted to take a minute to give you a big old thank you for your unbelievable support of Housing Works! Every treasure you�donated, every cup of coffee you sipped, every ticket you purchased, helped further our cause of eradicating HIV/AIDS. Now, isn't that something to celebrate?
Because of the amazing Housing Works community, and social justice champions like you, we have made some incredible strides this year toward ending the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS.�Here are just a few of the things that Housing Works has accomplished thanks to your support:
Our real life superheroes:�
The Undetectables, an incentive-based program aimed at helping our clients successfully maintain Viral Load Suppression is a huge success! Over 80% of our enrolled clients have achieved an undetectable viral load. This means our clients are happier, healthier, less likely to spread HIV/AIDS. Our Undetectables superheroes have done so well that the program is now being scaled up to six more organizations city-wide!
Vogue! Read! Shade!
You better stretch your muscles and grab your heels, because all things fabulous happen at our Kiki Dance group. At our East New York location young people come together and practice their best moves, prepare for competitions, and most importantly -- come together as a family to show love and support for one another. For a lot of the young, often LGBTQ people in the Kiki scene, it is their only�space for camaraderie and understanding.� Love, friendship, family, identity, culture -- this is what Kiki is really all about. Check out this video to learn more!
We're starting a new housing initiative in Brooklyn!
We've just received a grant to provide housing services to 22 HIV+, LGBTQ, homeless young adults in New York City. The program will provide safe, secure housing for a vulnerable population while also providing support services like medical case management, primary and behavioral health care, substance use support, and vocational training to improve health and strive for independent living.
Pow! Pow! Kickin' HEP C's Ass! Bam!
With the success of The Undetectables, we have implemented a similar incentive-based program to help eradicate Hepatitis C, a disease that progresses liver damage in HIV-infected populations. Whereas treatment was once painful and tedious, it is now shorter, injection-free and painless. Because this common misconception is often a barrier for clients in seeking treatment, this program will really bust through barriers and create a healthier community!
Fresh off the runway and straight into action:
Our CEO Charles King, and several Housing Works staffers and clients attended the International AIDS Conference in beautiful Durban, South Africa. While the sun was shining, we were presenting Housing Works' mission and vision for ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We participated in rallies, in true Housing Works fashion, presented on The Undetectables, and deepened our understanding of the plight of the epidemic internationally. We also met with several international organizations to further our work on the social drivers -- the social, economic and political conditions that shape the HIV/AIDS demographic -- in fast-track cities with high degrees of the epidemic. With our goal of ending HIV/AIDS worldwide by 2030, we came back driven and ready to make the HIV/AIDS epidemic a memory of the past!
We may be busy in our fight against homelessness and HIV/AIDS, but that doesn't mean we can't take a moment and appreciate everyone that has helped us along the way. We wouldn't be where we are today without you. From the bottom of our hearts, and on behalf of Housing Works' thousands of clients, thank you!
