Stephany Alvarado-Ornelas

HIV Alliance is a non-profit organization based in Eugene, Oregon whose mission is to reduce the number of new HIV cases by providing services to high-risk groups; the groups in question include houseless people, substance users, and the queer community. Latino males who have sex with males (MSM) are a historically underrepresented and understudied group in the United States, which contributes to the higher risk they have for contracting HIV. As HIV Alliance expands farther than Eugene, this project focuses on analyzing useful interventions and strategies that can be adopted into the agency’s services in order to better reach and retain members of the Eugene and Salem Latino MSM community.

Information gathering and meeting with HIV Alliance staff resulted in a document (for the agency) on the demographic as well as a list of suggestions for HIV Alliance to alter their services and outreach in order to more effectively reach potential Latino MSM clients. If the suggestions are pursued and further research is conducted within the agency, HIV Alliance can improve the health of the Latino MSM population through education of safe sex practices and prevention of risky behaviors that place them at higher risk. In addition, once connected with Alliance, HIV positive clients receive emotional and medicinal support to treat the viral load. Upon the completion of this project, a recommendation to future students is to micromanage their project from the beginning of the term in which it is due. The sustainability of this project was ensured by considering the feedback from HIV Alliance staff and this project can be used in the future as a reference point for cultural competency within the agency.