Women find their voices. The success of community outreach and case finding.
Families in transition (FIT), a joint program between Beth Israel Medical Center (BIMC) and National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., uses indigenous neighborhood women, Compañeras (companions), to conduct street outreach in a New York City neighborhood where HIV infection is rampant. The outreach workers inform people that, not only will they be assisted in talking about HIV and guardianship for their children, but that they will be provided information concerning access to food stamps, housing, health care, and other basic needs. Through community participation, the Compañeras empower themselves through knowledge making and sharing and, in the process, create conditions in which other women can began to effect changes in their individual lives and families. The ultimate goal of the project is to support HIV-infected women in finding their voices so that they can talk with their children and plan for their futures.
Ireland
M
M
Rutgers State University, Newark, NJ, USA.
Krauss
B J
BJ
D003152:Community Health Nursing; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D009519:New York City; D011209:Power, Psychological; D014932:Women's Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*