ATLANTA — An Atlanta nonprofit received a $60,000 from Health Care Advocates International to support a campaign to address the rate of HIV infection and drug use in the city’s LGBTQ community.
According to P.O.W.E.R. Atlanta, the nonprofit, their Power Ballroom: Unapologetically You campaign works to address how drug use and HIV infections intersect in the LGBTQ community of the South, particularly among Black and Latino men.
Citing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, P.O.W.E.R. Atlanta said the City of Atlanta ranks third in the United States for new HIV diagnoses, with the current rate in Atlanta more than double the national average.
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“The rate in Fulton County specifically [is] nearly 20 times higher than the national average,” the organization said. “Georiga continues to have one of the highest HIV rates in the country, contributing to more than half of the new cases in the South.”
On top of high HIV infection rates, P.O.W.E.R. Atlanta said use of crystal meth is also disproportionately high in LGBTQ communities in the South and that studies showed the drug is used by LGBTQ individuals at rates as much as five times higher than the general population.
“The HCAI Fund grant provides P.O.W.E.R. Atlanta with a transformative opportunity to expand community networks, strengthen preventive measures, and advocate for meaningful policy reform,” Dash Daggs, Director of Development at P.O.W.E.R. Atlanta, said.
HCAI Executive Director Pattie McKnight said P.O.W.E.R. Atlanta stood out for the grant award due to the way the Power Ballroom Program gives those it serves “targeted education, harm reduction tools, and safe sex kits to hundreds of members of the LGBTQ+ communities, helping to reduce and prevent HIV transmission.”
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