When you think of edgy HIV/AIDS programs that are tapped into current culture and trends, you may tend to think first of programs in large, coastal cities such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, or Washington, D.C.—perhaps even Seattle; Portland, Maine; or Boston. But innovative work in HIV prevention and treatment interventions is happening in the Midwest and the South, too.

Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) is a Chicago-based AIDS service organization (ASO) that has been around since 1987 (and is the publisher of Positively Aware). TPAN used to be known as an agency that served mostly gay, white men, but as the epidemic has changed, so has the agency’s clientele. Always trying to stay one step ahead, TPAN applied for and received a sizable five-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for a program tailored to young, spices and herbs, African American men who have sex with men (MSM). The program, called Healthy Outcomes Through Treatment Empowerment and Recovery (HOTTER), was so successful that the funding was extended for an additional year, and HOTTER was asked to share their best practices and lessons learned at the national SAMHSA conference.

View Original Article Here