Though D.C. has seen a significant decrease in the number of HIV/AIDS cases in recent years, health officials aren’t easing up on prevention and advocacy efforts.
Today, the Whitman-Walker Heath center—one of the city’s long-running community health centers known for its historic work in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment—announced a partnership with Metro TeenAIDS focusing on “health and wellness programs and services” for D.C. youth and their families.
“Expanding health care services for metro D.C.’s young people is an important next step for Whitman-Walker,” Don Blanchon, Executive Director of Whitman-Walker Health, said in a release. “Metro D.C. youth, especially LGBTQ youth and young adults living with HIV, face many challenges accessing high quality, culturally competent health care. This strategic collaboration brings together the best of both nonprofits to tackle these challenges. This includes expanded offerings for youth, such as medical, mental health and substance abuse services. Our new collaboration is a groundbreaking investment in the future of health care, both inside and outside of the doctor’s office.”
Though the number of newly reported cases of HIV in D.C. decreased by 46 percent between 2007 and 2011, a lot of the District’s youth and young adults—especially LGBTQ ones—diagnosed with HIV/AIDS are facing many problems receiving proper care. Metro TeenAIDS—the city’s only organization focusing on AIDS prevention, treatment, and education for D.C. youth—has been diligently working to help reduce AIDS numbers for more than 20 years.
According to statistics compiled by the D.C Department of Health, nearly 50 percent of the District’s newly diagnosed HIV patients between 2008 and 2012 were between the ages of 13 and 29. Among the opportunities this partnership will provide for MTA is the resources Whitman-Walker has to improve their outreach services to the District’s youth.
“We created Metro TeenAIDS because we knew that we needed a community-based response to this horrible epidemic,” MTA founder Dr. Larry D’Angelo said in a statement. “Metro TeenAIDS is now an international standard-bearer for high quality HIV services directed towards youth. But what is most remarkable about this this strategic alliance is the potential for what these two incredible organizations can do together. This is health leadership in the 21st Century should look like.”
