The Health Trust Awards First Round of Getting to Zero Mini-Grants

San Jose, CA – The HIV epidemic is affecting family and loved ones worldwide. Advocates all over the world and locally here in the heart of Silicon Valley are striving to fight this disease.

In Santa Clara County alone, there are over 2,700 people living with a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS since 2015, and the incidence of HIV increased by 20% from 2013 to 2014. Data from the state of California also shows that 9% of persons with HIV are unaware of their infection.

The number of new infections may continue to rise if not effectively addressed. In an effort to fight HIV, The Health Trust is collaborating with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department and community partners on a new initiative called Getting to Zero (GTZ).

This initiative was funded by Santa Clara County under the leadership of Supervisor Ken Yeager and aims to have “zero new HIV infections, zero deaths from HIV, and zero stigma related to HIV.”

Over the next four years, The Health Trust will serve as the lead agency on this effort and will coordinate GTZ efforts throughout the County. An important component of the initiative includes awarding mini-grants in the amount of $100,000 per year over the next four years to community-based organizations, public agencies, clinics, schools and/or other groups in support of the GTZ campaign and these four priority focus areas:

1. PrEP and PeP Implementation
2. Universal, comprehensive STD Screening and Targeted Testing
3. Initiation of Care and Retention in Care
4. Reduction of Stigma

Micheal Wright, Co-Chair of the mini-grant committee at Facebook, and The Health Trust, announced the first year grant awardees early this week. “It is exciting that we were able to fund such a diverse group of organizations and projects for this first year of this initiative. This is the type of effort needed in a community to help us meet these important goals.”

This year’s mini-grant recipients are:
Asian Americans for Community Involvement of Santa Clara County: Goal is to reduce stigma among Latino communities. Project: public messaging ad campaign.

Billy DeFrank LGBTQ Community Center: Goal is to reduce stigma among gay, MSM, transgender folks, lesbians, and the leather/kinky community. Project: Host Celebrating Sexuality workshops that provide education about PrEP and prevention.

Colectivo Acción Latina de Ambiente (ALA): Goal is to promote PrEP use and reduce stigma for Latino gay men. Project: Telenovela web series to deliver message about PrEP as a prevention option and address the issue of stigma in Latino community.

Community Health Partnership: Goal is to increase STD/HIV screening and testing among the Community Health Partnership network of clinics. Project: incorporation of HIV Quality Measures into CHP consortium Dashboard to make screening and testing more a more routine part of health care.

Office of Community Health, Stanford University School of Medicine, Packard Children’s Hospital Adolescent Health: Goal is to prevent new infections and detecting HIV infection early. Project: Getting to a Tipping Point: Scaling Up Youth Services for Comprehensive STD/HIV Testing and PrEP through the Stanford Teen Health Van.

Roots Community Health Center, South Bay: Goal is reduce infections and provide early detection for HIV among African descent adults. Project: to develop infrastructure for PrEP and PEP administration and universal comprehensive STD/HIV screening and testing in the Roots Community Health Center South Bay Clinic.