The United Way C.A.R.E.S. Vision Council formed approximately six years ago to develop an effective way to address HIV as it presented itself in our area. Representatives from United Way, St. Columba Neighborhood Club (now El Club Del Barrio), Special Audiences, Urban Renewal, NJ Association on Corrections, Apostles’ House, Integrity House, and Isaiah House formed a collaboration to meet this challenge.

The Council determined that the peer educator model was the most effective way to reach the “hard to reach” target population. Isaiah House was one of the first agencies to have a peer education prevention model for positives in the State of New Jersey. The American Red Cross and the Hyacinth AIDS Foundation have provided peer education training since the early stages of the epidemic.

The original Council members also decided to target the HIV positive community for prevention activities. The Council adopted this visionary undertaking long before it was identified by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a major population to focus on.

The original group formulated specific strategies as to how they could collectively help to reduce the spread of HIV among fragile African American adolescents, adults and families coping with homelessness, substance abuse, and a deep rooted sense of hopelessness. Funding was allocated to each agency that had a proven track record of providing support services, housing and medical care to the target population. The Council met regularly to share information, to problem-solve, and to assist one another with prevention activities sponsored by the Council and individual agencies. The Council worked together to plan the first annual conference for HIV infected and affected consumers in 1996.