SAMHSA Grant Launches New Programsposted on Monday, April 11, 2011 "The Edisto Health District, serving Orangeburg, Calhoun and Bamberg counties, has the highest incidence rate in the state [SC] of persons infected with HIV/AIDS. This is ground zero…" read one article in The Times and Democrat newspaper of Orangeburg. While the state of HIV/AIDS in the Edisto region of South Carolina is desperate, the HopeHealth Edisto site is determined to change the prognosis with a new initiative. In October 2010, HopeHealth Edisto was granted a 5-year award worth $1.5 million ($300,000 a year) from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This will afford at least $150,000 for direct prevention services. The award will allow HH Edisto to focus prevention efforts on African-American college students ages 18 to 24 in Orangeburg and Bamberg Counties. The campuses designated are SC State University, Claflin University, Voorhees College, and Denmark Technical College. This project is known as the Capacity Building Initiative for Substance Abuse and HIV Prevention, and it proactively combines HIV and alcohol/substance abuse prevention efforts. It seeks to reduce high-risk behaviors for substance abuse and HIV infection, and reduce the rate of infection among the target group. To achieve these goals, HH Edisto has elected to implement two HIV prevention programs from the CDC's Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions (DEBIs): Many Men, Many Voices (3MV) and Video Opportunities for Innovative Condom Education & Safer Sex (VOICES). Two alcohol and substance abuse interventions have been chosen from SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Program and Practices (NREPP): Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) and Challenging College Alcohol Abuse (CCAA). Other activities include additional free HIV testing, student advisory groups, and graduate assistantships. HopeHealth Edisto will also convene an advisory council, as well as increase trainings and educational opportunities for community partners and service providers to help establish a sustainable continuum of care for HIV and alcohol/substance abuse services. Since the award notice, Edisto has hired a Project Coordinator and Program Specialist, Shawn Maxwell and Katrina Gardner respectively. Overseeing the project is Edisto Site Director, Sallie Bachman. An alcohol and substance abuse counselor will be hired within the coming months. The staff is currently completing a needs assessment and strategic planning process. Implementation at SCSU is set to begin in May 2011. * This is a printer friendly version of the original page, made to save you ink and paper.
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