Women’s Center of Wake County - $41,852 – The SHAPE (Safety Health And Personal Empowerment) program of the Women's Center of Wake County (WCWC) in Raleigh, North Carolina is an educational program that promotes, supports and sustains gradual and positive change in women who are extremely marginalized due to homelessness, severe/persistent mental illness, substance abuse, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and a lifestyle dependent on transactional sex (prostitution).

Western NC  AIDS Project - $66,892 – The HIV Prevention Program for Youth provides intensive education for adolescent African American girls and LGBTQ youth in the western part of North Carolina. This program also involves developing a curriculum for an after school setting that will be disseminated among other Health Educators. In addition, this program involves the creation of the Youth HIV Prevention Coalition to continue educational programs that are wanted and needed in the area.  

Chatham Social Health Council – $46,079 – The Chatham Social Health Council is adapting an evidenced based prevention model created for African American youth for application to Latino/a youth. The program is using peer educators to disseminate HIV education. This project will work with 11-17 year olds in a number of existing social networks, such as soccer leagues, churches and community organizations, to reach those that might not otherwise be reached with HIV education.  

Nationally

In 2006 the Center for Disease Control increased their estimates of the number of people living with HIV in the United States to 56,300. This increase in numbers represented previously under-reported incidences of HIV. In issuing these revised numbers the CDC stated “it is a sobering reminder that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is far from over in this country.” (1)

Overall the incidence of AIDS has decreased nationwide, from 39,690 in 2003 to 37,852 in 2006.(2) During that same period of time however, those rates were increasing in North Carolina. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation while African Americans make up just 19% of the population of the South they comprise 52% of those living with AIDS and 58% of the new diagnoses. (3)

North Carolina

In North Carolina rates of those living with HIV and AIDS have been increasing over the past years. The AIDS incident has increased from 1,083 in 2003 to 1,229 in 2006.(4) The number of newly diagnosed HIV cases also continues to go up from 1,827 in 2005 to 1,943 in 2007. Intensifying that challenge is the fact that approximately one-third of those who test positive for HIV in North Carolina simultaneously present with AIDS.(5)  This means that we are not identifying people early in the course of their disease and they are not getting into or staying in medical care.

Again in North Carolina it is the racial minorities that bare the weight of this disease. In 2007, 62.1% of the new HIV infections were among African Americans and 8.2% were among Hispanics. (6)

This was reflected by the 2006 Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in North Carolina Report Card which gave the state Fs and Ds when measuring HIV disease cases per 100,000 population and HIV disease deaths per 100,000 population for African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanics/Latinos. (7)

As of December 2007, there were 32,583 people known to be living with HIV in North Carolina (8) and it is estimated that approximately a quarterly of the people living with HIV are unaware of their status.