Sep 27, 2023
$500,000 Award from the Elton John AIDS Foundation will Help Expand HIV and STI outreach, testing, prevention and linkage to care throughout San Antonio
San Antonio AIDS Foundation (SAAF) and Corazón San Antonio are excited to announce their newest community impact collaboration “SAAF Spaces with Corazón,” in partnership with the Elton John AIDS Foundation. This two-year, $500,000 grant will help SAAF and Corazón San Antonio expand their services in HIV outreach, testing, prevention, and syringe exchange while providing resources to sex workers and people experiencing homelessness.
As 20% of new HIV diagnoses are in the 13-24 year-old age group nationwide, this program will include HIV/STI education with Corazón SA’s Young Adult Stability and Support (YASS) program (CDC, 2020). With approximately 15% of women and 6% of men living with HIV in San Antonio having likely acquired HIV through injection drug use (AIDSVu, 2020), this project builds upon Corazón San Antonio’s syringe services program, the only program of its kind in Texas, by incorporating HIV/STI testing. Early diagnosis and rapid linkage to care is crucial in preventing the onset of AIDS, and this program follows all testing with a rapid linkage to care for HIV treatment or referral for PrEP services to prevent HIV.