MOCHA Coalition
The MOCHA Coalition is an
association comprised of the Chicago Department of Public
Health and eight community based organizations (CALOR a division
of Anixter, Greater Chicago Committee, Horizons Community
Services, Howard Brown Health Center, Minority Outreach Intervention
Project, Task Force AIDS Prevention, Test Positive Aware Network,
and VIDA/SIDA) and the Chicago Department of Public Health
synergistically working to improve the lives of African American
and Latino gay men.
This innovative project is
funded by the Office of Minority Health and the only of its
kind in the country. One of the over arching goals of this
coalition is to build the infrastructure of these organizations
to better enable them to respond qualitatively and quantitatively
to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African American and
Latino gay/bisexual community.
The MOCHA Coalition began
in October of 1999 and since have made several major inroads
into increasing the quality and number of services this community:
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Conducted thorough Needs
Assessment of the partner organizations to identify strengths
and weaknesses;
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Built stability within
several partner organizations;
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Implemented a Client Satisfaction
survey to garner a better understanding of the challenges
and barriers to health care for this community;
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Developed a series of
agency specific activities to increase their ability to
serve and understand the culture of this community;
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Maintained National Visibility
and Leadership to ensure resources are available for this
community and guarantee appropriate strategies/interventions
are developed/implemented to prevent HIV among African
American and Latino gay men;
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Increased funding to Chicago
for this community by 40%;
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Developed an extensive
Public Health Campaign to reduce HIV infections and increase
access to HIV Counseling and Testing, as well as reduce
stigma and homophobia.
HIV/AIDS’ Impact on This
Community
Across this country, gay men
have been disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. Currently
in Chicago, gay men represent a greater proportion of reported
AIDS cases than they do nationally, 53% compared to 37%.
Unfortunately, this same impact
is seen in Chicago and particularly among African American
and Latino gay men. In Chicago, new AIDS cases among African
American gay men have steadily increased and Latino rates
have stayed the same, while AIDS cases among White men have
decreased. Consequently, we are witnessing both an alarming
increase of HIV infections and of AIDS cases among this population.
The factors and variables
that have contributed are complex and numerous. However we
know that African and Latino gay men experience all of the
traditional barriers to accessing health care that racial/ethnic
minorities face, along with the additional obstacle of discrimination
due to homophobia and homohatred. The stigma and marginalization
of this community, coupled with the high rates of HIV/AIDS
has created a great need for programs like the MOCHA Coalition.
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A BLACK GAY MEN'S CALL
TO ACTION TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY
More than two decades have passed since the HIV/AIDS pandemic
emerged. Despite advancements in other communities, the virus's
progression among Black people continues to quicken.
As a group of professional
Black gay men, we call on our community to join us in the
fight to rid our community of this devastating disease. We
come together from all walks of life to search for and implement
solutions. We are elected officials and public servants. We
are leaders in the world of music. We are businessmen, lawyers,
artists, entertainment and media executives, and scientists.
Despite our varied areas of expertise, our strength is our
common vision. We are Black men who refuse to remain silent
while Black people account for over half of all new HIV infections
every year in the United States.
Our community must recognize
that this is a state of emergency. We must each speak openly
about living with HIV-whether or not we are infected, we are
all affected. It is our collective responsibility to be informed
and responsible.
-
We must protect ourselves
and our partners from the virus' continued spread.
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We must teach each other
about HIV and AIDS and recognize that this is a preventable
and treatable disease.
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We must get tested and
encourage our partners, family and friends to do the same.
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If we are positive, we
must get into treatment.
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And, we must demand that
we as a Black community call upon our own resources and
our government to take appropriate and targeted action
to combat the epidemic in our communities.
Perhaps most crucially, we
must engage every part of the Black community in a coordinated
effort to turn the tide. It is time for us to reject the paralyzing
denial, stigma and homophobia promoted by a few lone voices.
We must confront the socio-economic conditions that cause
people to do drugs and exchange needles; challenge the lack
of affordable medicine and treatment options available to
many of us; dispel the myths and misinformation circulating
in our communities; and alleviate the myriad of issues that
contribute to the spread of AIDS in Black communities today.
We are calling on every Black
organization in America to add HIV/AIDS to its agenda. And
we are asking every Black man, woman, and child to make a
personal commitment to fight against HIV/AIDS in our communities.
Finally, it is time for Black
gay men to stand up and be counted. In order to participate
in the healing of our community we must first heal ourselves.
So we are joining together as one voice, one body, and under
one spirit of love. It is through this union that our healing
can begin. And so we invite our mothers, fathers, brothers
and sisters to join us in a partnership to end this pandemic.
Only through coming together can we end the plague sweeping
through all quarters of Black America. The power to save our
lives ultimately lies in our own hands!
Emil Wilbekin, Editor and Chief, Vibe Magazine*, New York,
New York
E. Lynn Harris, Novelist, Atlanta Georgia
Keith Boykin, Esq. lecturer and writer, New York, New York
Prof. John L. Peterson Ph. D, Georgia State University*, Atlanta,
Georgia
Prof. Juan Battle Ph.D., Hunter College & the Graduate
Center, C.U.N.Y.*, New York
George Bellinger, Jr., AIDS Action Council*, Washington D.C.
Stuart Burden, Levi Strauss & Co.*, San Francisco
Paul E. Butler, New York
Charles E. Clifton, Test Positive Aware Network, Chicago
Stamp Corbin, Entrepeneur, Columbus, Ohio
Duane Cramer, Photographer, San Francisco
Brickson Diamond, Private Investment Advisor, Los Angeles
Maurice O'Brian Franklin, M. Franklin Management, LLC, New
York
Darrin Gayles, Esq., Lawyer, Miami
James Grooms, Esq., Grooms & Williams, PLLC, New York
Dennis Holmes MD, U.S.C. Medical Center, Los Angeles
Ernest Hopkins, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, San Francisco
Patrik-Ian Polk, Filmmaker, Los Angeles
Imara Jones, New York
John King, Esq., Lawyer, Miami
Andre Lee, Film Movement*, New York
David Malebranche, MD, MPH, Emory University*, Atlanta
Abner Mason, AIDS Responsibility
Project, Los Angeles
Jesse Milan, Jr., JD, Constella Group*, Silver Springs, MD.
Greg Millett, Ph.D., Researcher, Atlanta
Ken Monteiro, Ph.D., San Francisco State University*, San
Francisco
John Newsome, The Bridgespan Group*, San Francisco
Dennis Odums, Community Relations Manager, Allstate Insurance*,
Los Angeles
Steve Oxendine, Consultant, San Francisco
The Honorable Philip Reed, City Council Member, New York City
The Honorable Ken Reeves, City Council Member, Cambridge
Leo Rennie, NASTAD*, Washington DC
Doug Spearman, Actor, Los Angeles
Pilgrim S. Spikes, PhD, MPH, Researcher, Atlanta
Derrick Thompson, BMG Music Publishing*, Los Angeles
Steve Wakefield, HIV Vaccine Trials Network*, Seattle
Nathan Williams Esq., Grooms & Williams, PLLC, New York
Phill Wilson, Black AIDS Institute, Los Angeles
Kai Wright, Journalist, New York
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