1	Project CAPAB: Capacity Building Assistance to Prevent AIDS in the Metro Boston Haitian Community CCHER Center for Community Health, Education & Research, Inc. 420 Washington Street Dorchester MA 02124 WWW.CCHER.ORG 617-265-0628 Presenter: Eustache Jean-Louis, M.D., M.P.H., Executive Director Janine Walker, Program Coordinator
2	BACKGROUND: For more than a decade Haitian health and social providers in Boston, New York and Miami have been the “VOICES”: Framing the debate, talking about the public health burden and the fatal destruction of HIV in the Haitian communities Selecting and providing appropriate ways to mobilize the Haitian communities
3	BACKGROUND: Continuation.. Encouraging community members to participate through group and community level activities Conducting passed activities have brought a threshold of HIV awareness but have not mobilized and targeted subgroups in these communities Requiring in these communities future capacity building effort to reach out and to engage other local decision makers
4	Responding for lack of capacity building effort, CCHER CCHER, a non-profit community based in Boston proposed the Project CAPAB: Capacity Building Assistance to Prevent AIDS in the Metro Boston Haitian Community
5	Project CAPAB: Translated from the Haitian Creole word KAPAB meaning “can do” or “to be able”
6	Reducing HIV disparities in the Haitian communities through Building Capacity for HIV Prevention OBJECTIVES Working to engage Haitian formal and informal leaders to embrace and promote HIV prevention. Promoting a set of “core competencies” that contribute to the ability of Haitian community stakeholders to provide leadership and support to increase awareness about HIV risk behaviors
7	Core Competencies: Mobilizing the Haitian community Developing community leadership Developing networks and partnerships Developing and implementing education and communication strategies
8	Working Together in our Process: CCHER working with local organization(s) in Haitian communities Boston AIDS Consortium University of Massachusetts, Haitian Studies Association The Haitian communities
9	Methodologies for Capacity Building Process Assembled in respective communities (Boston, Brooklyn) a local Community Capacity Building Advisory Board or Committee. The Advisory Board or Committee worked together with CCHER project staff to assist in mobilizing the community and deciding the best community capacity building strategies for the respective Haitian communities (Boston and Brooklyn)
10	Methodologies for Capacity Building Process (cont’d): Conducted a “ capacity building assessment” among identified formal and informal leaders in the local Haitian communities, with the assistance of the Community Advisory Board Who were the Advisory Board: Formal and Informal leaders consisting Pastors, Priests, Teachers, “regular folks”, consumers and related families, parent, business, media (radio, cable and newspapers) and other non-health related organizations
11	The CCHER Model for Community Mobilization
12	Boston/Brooklyn Haitian Communities Capacity Building Assessment: Through members of the Advisory Board, we identified key local Haitian formal and informal leaders Conducted approximately 75 (Boston=50 New York=25) in-person interviews with these leaders to elicit their thoughts and feelings about capacity building for HIV prevention in their community
13	Key Findings from the Community Capacity Building Assessment: 23% Culture/Stigma 15% Lack of Education about HIV 15% Denial 12% Lack of organizational cooperation
14	Key Findings (cont’d) Church Leaders (67%) Media Leaders (30%) Educational Leaders (13%) Voodoo Leaders (10%)
15	Key Findings (cont’d):
16	Key findings (cont’d): 69% through the Media 27% through churches/ church leadership involvement 23% educational community events/forums 69% through the media 42% through church groups 27% through community forums
17	Key findings (cont’d): Recurrent Themes/ Needs: Community Education Enhanced Communication Foster Unification Build Capacity
18	Capacity Building Plan: From the information gleaned from the assessment, the Advisory Board, in conjunction with project staff, formulated a training plan to target three key groups of leaders: Haitian Media Leaders Haitian Faith Leaders Haitian usiness/Politics/Educational leaders
19	Evidence of Success of Capacity Building Efforts: Media Leaders: Increasing collaboration and partnership has begun among Haitian radio programs and media leaders Assisting Boston media leaders in revitalizing their local media association Assisting Boston Media Association with continuing HIV education Providing technical support grant writing and media training Linking Boston and New York Media
20	Evidence of Success of Capacity Building Efforts:(cont’d): Development of faith-based organizations Development of Faith-based Intiatives Forestering new parterships with existing community based AIDS organizations
21	Dissemination Strategies: Sharing the Assessment and the Training Plan with the Community Written report distributed to key stakeholders in different Haitian communities Discussed extensively on Haitian radio programs, in Haitian Creole Community Forum CCHER website www.ccher.org Presenting findings at national and local conferences
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23	Future Directions: Training for Haitian Business and Educational leaders in Spring 2003 in Boston Additional training for Haitian Media Leaders for continued professional development and capacity building New York Haitian faith leaders 2 day training in March 21-22, 2003 and 2 days retreat slated for May 2003.
24	Future Directions (cont’d): New York/Boston Media Leaders 2 day training for Fall 2003. Linking and planning with (West Palm and Miami) Florida Haitian communities to address capacity building there Sharing lessons learned Adapting CAPAB model to those communities Working to establish a strong network among Boston, New York, Florida Haitian HIV providers and other stakeholders for future work
25	Faces from the Community: Project staff and several members of the Community Advisory Board
26	Faces from the Community: Participants in the Haitian Media Training Series
27	Faces from the Community: Faith-Based Leadership Training
28	SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Haitian American Media Association in Mass., Association of Haitian Pastors, Haitian Centers Council, EMG Communication, CCHER Staff, Univ. of Mass. Boston Boston AIDS Consortium.
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