Title: HIV Initiative to Train and Educate Communities on HIV/AIDS (HI TECH) Project
Project Period: September 1, 2005 - August 31, 2008
Project Amount Funded (FY 2005): $278,250
Project Director: Kathye Gorosh

The HIV Initiative to Train and Educate Communities on HIV/AIDS (HI TECH) Project partners with eight organizations serving African American and Hispanic women in the Chicago area. The project conducts the following four major activities focusing on both organizations and individuals: needs assessment, capacity development and technical assistance, resource coordination, and linkage-building and community coordination.

The needs assessment involves both a community needs assessment in the South and West Side proposed service areas as well as an organizational needs assessment for each partner organization. Participating organizations become part of a resource coordination committee which extends invitations to other organizations to become involved in the project. On a collective level, this committee conducts problem analysis, strategic issue identification, systems analysis, and strategy development in order to best enhance existing strengths, close service gaps, and facilitate the development of a continuum of care specific to needs of African American and Hispanic women. Technical assistance and capacity development services for participating organizations include trainings, mentoring, and individualized assistance on persistent capacity development issues. In addition, the project trains organizations and providers on the Community and Minority Education and Training Initiative for HIV/AIDS (COMET), a computer-based health education and patient empowerment initiative to enhance and track their education, screening, and referral activities. Resource building and coordination is provided through a subcommittee of the resource coordination committee; the role of the subcommittee is to develop and implement innovative, voluntary collaborations among participating organizations who wish to pursue funding opportunities together. Linkage-building and coordination activities are conducted by the resource coordination committee, which meets quarterly to develop and implement a woman-specific continuum of care.

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