Key Funders
- fhi360
- The Legacy Project
Grant Recipient
- The MOCHA Center, Inc.
- 1 of 18 recipients across the nation
- Co-Leads:
- Bruce E. Smail, Executive Director
- Stephaun E. Wallace, Interim Deputy Director
- Buffalo Staff
- Stephaun E. Wallace, Interim Deputy Director
- DeMarkis Bonner, Program Coordinator
- Rochester Staff
- Stephaun E. Wallace, Interim Deputy Director
- Barbara Turner, Program Coordinator
- New York City Staff
- Vacant, Capacity Building Manager
Key Biomedical Research Partners
- The Rochester Victory Alliance (University of Rochester) — for Buffalo & Rochester
- The New York City HIV Vaccine Unit (Columbia University & New York Blood Bank) — for New York City
Community Partners
In the design of this grant, we created several layers of input and interaction with communities to enhance awareness and knowledge of biomedical HIV prevention research for MSM and Transgender communities of color.
Our biomedical research partners are The Rochester Victory Alliance (Vaccine Trials) and the New York City HIV Vaccine Unit (Vaccine and Prevention Trials). The Rochester Victory Alliance will be our main partner in both Buffalo and Rochester. The NYC HIV Vaccine Unit will be the main partner in the New York City area. Both of these Units will provide trainings (3 in total) for the MOCHA Center staff, board, volunteers, and collaborative partners. Both Units will also participate in various events throughout the project.
Through the MOCHA Center’s work in Western New York as well as it partnership with the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York City, the BTG Bridge staff identified key organizations and individuals to serve on Community Advisory Boards (CABs). The CABs, with representation from the Rochester Victory Alliance, the NYC HIV Vaccine Unit, organizations serving our target populations, and key individuals in the community, will promote BTG Bridge, provide feedback and guidance, and engage our communities around biomedical HIV prevention trials. The CABs will meet quarterly for a total of 5 meetings in each city.
During milestone 2, we will conduct a series of 9 focus groups (3 in each city) to identify community concerns, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about HIV clinical trials. These focus groups will provide guidance as we plan the various bi-monthly community forums.
The Bi-monthly community forums (8 in each city) are topical presentations on various issues associated with biomedical HIV prevention. These events are smaller (50-75) and based in more familiar settings — such as a local church, a partner organization, or community area of our target populations. For example the first bi-monthly community forum in Rochester is scheduled during Rochester’s LGBT Health Awareness Month in March. We have tapped into an event with several community partners and will conduct our first event on HIV Vaccine Trials 101. This event engages local partners in Rochester, the Rochester Victory Alliance, and the community to find out more about vaccine trials. The bi-monthly community forums will target Black MSM, Latino MSM, Black Transgender and Latino Transgender communities. The bi-monthly forums are topical and reflect current issues/trends/discoveries in biomedical prevention research. The goal is that each bi-monthly community forum is different and builds on the needs and concerns of the various target communities. The forums will also be guided by feedback from the focus groups, CABs, or previous community forums. Evaluation/feedback forms will be provided so that we will be able to assess the current needs or critical issues that subsequent events need to address. This is a fluid process with input from the Rochester Victory Alliance, the NYC HIV Vaccine Unit, the MOCHA BTGB staff, CABs, partners, and participants.
The three major events (one in each city) target the entire city and will address broader issues than the bi-monthly community forums. These events are larger (150-200) and based in a more public setting. The major events will not repeat the community forums but expand on broader issues. The major events will use the data obtained throughout the forums and CAB meetings to determine its focus. One example is that the major event might focus on all of the biomedical HIV prevention research with representation from all the clinical trial networks. This provides the community with a broader understanding of multiple options for in biomedical HIV prevention.
Overall Deliverables during Grant Period – 1/1/2012 – 5/31/2013
| Buffalo | Rochester | NYC | Total | |
| CAB Meetings | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| Bi-Monthly Community Forums | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 |
| Focus Groups | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Semi-Annual Biomedical HIV Prevention Training | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Major Events | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Total Programs/Events | 18 | 18 | 18 | 54 |
