ACRIA is excited to announce an award of 150K from the M•A•C AIDS Fund to support its National Older Adults HIV program in localities outside of New York City. The funding will allow ACRIA to deepen its programming in areas that are critically in need of resources for older adults living with the disease.

Through the support of the M•A•C AIDS Fund, we will expand our consistently successful technical assistance and capacity building  efforts into Columbia, South Carolina and St. Louis, Missouri. In these areas, ACRIA will target locations that have large populations of individuals over the age of 50 and high HIV prevalence. ACRIA will then lead the way by providing sustainable HIV education, prevention, services, and programs within organizations serving senior citizens and other older adults and the ASO community. As always, ACRIA will model cost-effective ways for these organizations to incorporate services using their existing resources.

As documented in ACRIA’s 2006 Research on Older Adults with HIV (ROAH) study HIV-positive people over 50 are largely cut off from sorely needed healthcare and social services and are often doubly stigmatized by HIV-phobia and ageism. With the help of the M•A•C AIDS Fund, ACRIA will be able to strengthen existing services on HIV and aging by providing invaluable information, reducing stigma, and building and strengthening ties among HIV services providers. ACRIA is thrilled to do this essential work and proud to continue its role as a leader in the field of HIV and ageing.