Special Service for Groups
605 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 99015
Phone: (213) 553-1830
Fax: (213) 553-1833
Email: www.apaitonline.org
Title: Asian Pacific Prevention Education AIDS Resource (APPEAR)
Project Director: Jury Candelario
Target Population: Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
Age Group: Adults
The Asian Pacific Prevention Education AIDS Resource (APPEAR) is a collaborative effort between Special Service for Groups/Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team, Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, San Fernando Valley Filipino Chamber of Commerce, and Khmer Girls in Action. The mission of the coalition is to build capacity of local community-based organizations, and to increase awareness and knowledge of HIV/AIDS among the API community targeting three behavioral risk groups including: API men who have sex with men (MSM); API transgender sexual risk (TSR); and API women sexual risk (WSR). APPEAR will target API men and woman ages 18 years and older in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
The project provides capacity building assistance to local API-serving organizations and mainstream health providers in the form of: quarterly trainings on HIV/AIDS awareness and/or cultural competence; coordination of linkages between API-serving organizations; and development of a resource and referral guide; and an annual HIV/AIDS symposium to increase awareness and facilitate dialogue within the local community. The project addresses individual barriers by providing quarterly HIV/AIDS prevention workshops to increase knowledge of risk of transmission, prevention methods, HIV testing, treatment and support resources. Workshops (one or two days) are scheduled four times a year and provide information through lectures and participatory exercises. A goal of the project is to develop a resource and referral guide that includes contact information for agencies serving the target population. The guide will be distributed to participating organizations and CBOs in the targeted communities. Annual symposia are conducted to further facilitate linkages and dialogue between organizations in the form of an educational forum, and provide up-to-date information about HIV/AIDS issues in the targeted communities. Each symposium focuses on one behavioral risk group. Prevention education will incorporate the “ABC Approach”. Outreach is conducted at various community events, health fairs, festivals and bars/clubs where clients receive referrals for HIV tests and treatment.