the latest information on our work within the community and significant happenings across the health care industry.
AC360 selected as one of four Chicago agencies to receive grant to enact Substance Abuse and HIV Prevention Navigator Programs across Chicago
AC360 hosts free COVID-testing throughout September
FDA approval for Chembio Diagnostics for HIV/Syphilis Combo Rapid Test
AC360 selected as one of 31 organizations to Lead creation of Chicago’s COVID Contact Tracing Corps
CDC Awards HIV Funding to 96 Community-Based Organizations (CBOs)
Friday, November 20, 2020
AC360 selected as one of three agencies by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 5 years, to implement program components that follow the pillars (Diagnose, Prevent, Treat, and Respond) of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE) initiative. This new funding – was awarded through the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP) under its PS21-2102 “Comprehensive High-Impact HIV Prevention Programs for Community Based Organizations” program. The funding will help CBOs develop new –and enhance existing –strategies focused on populations disproportionately affected by HIV, which include gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (MSM), people who inject drugs (PWID), and transgender people. A minimum of 75% of clients served must also be from a racial or ethnic minority.
For over 30 years, CDC has directly funded Community-Based Organizations that primarily serve racial and ethnic minority populations to help close gaps in access to HIV prevention services. With this new CBO cooperative agreement, CDC builds on its ongoing commitment to partnering with CBOs in communities most affected by HIV. CBOs are uniquely positioned to complement and extend the reach of HIV prevention. CBOs have the credibility and experience within their communities to ensure that HIV prevention efforts reach individuals who could benefit most from them.
Community-based organizations are uniquely positioned to complement and extend the reach of HIV prevention efforts implemented by state and local health departments and education agencies to support the optimization of services across public, private, and other community-based organizations to achieve objectives of increased identification of HIV diagnoses, referral for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) services, earlier entry to HIV care, and increased consistency of care.
The comprehensive HIV prevention-funded program must align with the pillars of the nation’s Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative (EHE) – Diagnose, Treat, Prevent, and Respond, and employs CDC’s High-Impact Prevention approach. This includes the implementation and delivery of strategic practices that focus on (1) diagnosis of HIV, (2) treatment of HIV-positive persons, (3) preventing new HIV transmissions, and (4) responding quickly to potential HIV outbreaks to get needed prevention and treatment services to people who need them.
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
SAMHSA Announces $21.9 in Grant Awards for Comprehensive Behavioral Health Care and HIV Prevention and Care for Historically Underserved Populations
SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Announces Grant Awards for Comprehensive Behavioral Health Care and HIV Prevention and Care for Historically Underserved Populations. Alliance Care 360 (AC360) is one of three Chicago, Cook County, IL CBOs. This program increases engagement in care for racial and ethnic medically underserved individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) and/or co-occurring SUDs and mental health conditions (COD) who are at risk for or living with HIV. Award recipients such Alliance Care 360, Haymarket McDermott Center, and Family Guidance Centers, Inc. will take a syndemic approach to SUD, HIV, and viral hepatitis, in reducing substance misuse, opioid deaths, and the incidence of HIV infections and viral suppression.
The grant award will expand the mission of the agency’s TEAM (Trauma-informed Empowered Advocates for Mental Health) Center and complement its SAMSHA and Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) CSAP (Centers for Substance Abuse Prevention) program award to address substance misuse, provider capacity building and social campaign and facilitate ongoing efforts in treatment linkages, recovery support, and harm reduction strategies targeting young adults and aging heterosexual, gay, and bisexual men of African American, Hispanic, and Asian descent. These specific funds will help expand support programs that bring special emphasis to those who have historically not had equitable access to behavioral health care and infectious disease services.
The award is advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy and supports the goals of the National HIV AIDS Strategy.
Preventing Mpox Resurgence by Increasing Vaccine Confidence & Community Immunity Through CBO Partnerships
September 6, 2023
In 2023, the CDC Foundation is providing awards to 44 community-based organizations (CBOs) across the United States working to increase vaccine education, confidence, access and acceptance of JYNNEOS, a 2-dose mpox vaccine that can prevent infection or reduce the likelihood of severe illness, hospitalization, and death. The work of CBOs receiving support will focus on those most affected by Mpox. Alliance Care 360 is a recipient of this award and celebrate the partnership with the CDC Foundation’s goal to reduce vaccination disparities during a National Emergency Response: The US Mpox Vaccine Equity Pilot Program.
The CDC Foundation is the go-to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC’s critical health protection mission. Since 1995, the CDC Foundation has raised over $1.2 billion and launched more than 1,200 programs impacting a variety of health threats from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases like rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses, including COVID-19 and Ebola.
The CDC Foundation believes that community-based organizations (CBOs) are essential partners in the public health system and integral to ensuring meaningful impact on health outcomes. CBOs are a trusted resource within communities to improve economic, social, physical, and emotional well-being. CBOs, especially those led by people from racial and ethnic minority groups with lived experience and an understanding of the communities in which they work, are vital to building local capacity, fostering collaboration, and creating feelings of ownership. Supporting these organizations also contributes to the development of local leaders and leaders of racial and ethnic minority groups who are better positioned to navigate through complex decision-making affecting their communities.
The CDC Foundation seeks to support CBO efforts to increase monkeypox virus (mpox) vaccine coverage and subsequent community immunity by providing these organizations funding as sub-recipients. This funding will support efforts to implement a wide range of innovative, culturally appropriate, and situationally sensitive mpox vaccination confidence and prevention education strategies to prevent a resurgence.
Alliance Care 360, celebrate the other award recipients: University of Chicago, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and The Latino Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders Alliance, on this journey to address vaccine equity.