MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Minority AIDS Project : Reaching Out, Close To Home

Bishop Carl Bean saw 10 years ago that the incidence of AIDS was rising in minority communities, including South-Central, but that existing AIDS organizations were looking in other directions. “Their primary goal was educating white gay men,” says Bean, founder of the Unity Fellowship Church.

“As an openly gay African American male who’s a person of faith,” he adds, “I knew it was my obligation to respond.” Thus was born the Minority AIDS Project, of which Bean is still director.

With donations, he also started, in 1985, a small emergency shelter in West Los Angeles called Dignity House.

Today, the organization has a budget of $2.5 million from both private and public sources. Last year, its staff of 50 helped 1,200 clients secure permanent or emergency housing and services such as in-home nursing, counseling and day care. Educational information was distributed to thousands more.

ASSESSMENT

“MAP stands out in the fact that they have worked with a number of special populations. They’ve gone and talked to people no one else did, and in a respectful and effective way.”--Ferd Eggan, AIDS coordinator for the city of Los Angeles

HIV/AIDS Information Programs:

Hands Across the Hood

Target: South-Central gang members who are at special risk because of sexual contact with other men in prison, heterosexual contact with infected partners and intravenous drug use

Approach: Recruit current and former gang members to preach safe-sex message in their neighborhoods.

Wake Up, My Brother

Target: African American men who identify themselves as heterosexuals

Approach: Outreach workers go to heterosexual bars, dance or stripper clubs and give information on-site and informally.

“There are a lot of men who do not consider themselves gay who are at risk of getting infected [because of having unprotected homosexual contact.] We let them know this is not a “gay” disease, that this is a virus that affects people of color [regardless of sexual orientation,”

--L. Paul Davis, Jr., MAP’s health education director

Needle Exchange

Target: Intravenous drug users

Approach: Outreach workers travel to four sites in South-Central to educate participants about the need for clean needles. They also exchange 1,200 to 1,500 needles each day.

Say Sister

Target: Heterosexual women, primarily African American and Latino prostitutes and substance abusers

Approach: Outreach staff go to areas where prostitutes congregate to promote safer sex practices.

TO GET INVOLVED: Call (213) 936-4949.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Growth Rate of AIDS Cases Per 100,000 People in Los Angeles County from 1986-1993

All county residents: +36%

Black: +58%

Hispanic: +56%

White: + 23%%

Source: Los Angeles County Department of Health Services

Researched by PENELOPE MCMILLAN / For The Times