Nestled on the ninth floor of a building on West 25th Street, the Latino Commission on AIDS is inconspicuous amongst the neighborhood's small businesses. When interviewed, Romeo Sanchez, project director, started by describing the organization. "The Commission was established in 1990. It is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to improving and expanding HIV/AIDS prevention, research, treatment, and other services to the Latino community through organizing, education, program development, capacity building and training." Sanchez provided information on the many programs the Commission provides for Latinos with HIV/AIDS. A summary of the organization's main programs follows.

A Broad Based National Campaign to Build Awareness

In 2003, the National Latino AIDS Awareness Day event was larger than ever. The event is backed by a strong national coalition. The media also was very involved, helping publicize the event in print and broadcast media. There were more than 300 regional HIV prevention and awareness activities in Latino communities from Anchorage, Alaska to Tampa, Florida. All this activity took place in the span of one day - October 15.

Promoting Spanish Language Health Education

The Bilingual Health Education Institute meets the pressing need for Spanish language HIV/AIDS treatment education and counseling in New York and other states by providing training and education to frontline service providers. They also provide information in Spanish to Latinos living with HIV/AIDS. The institute offers education, case management and treatment adherence counseling.

Empowering Latinas to Learn Their HIV Status, Protect Their Communities

The Mujeres y Salud project provides HIV/AIDS counseling and testing services to hundreds of Latinas.

Fighting Homophobia in our Neighborhoods and Families

This project is comprised of a media and community organizing campaign to fight homophobia in Latino communities. According to the Commission, homophobia is a leading cause of the isolation that drives the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Fighting for Prisoner Health

The Latino Prison Project staff help organize community advocates to support legislative hearings on New York State prison health; provide information about prison health legislation; sponsor a network of service providers, prisoners and ex-prisoners (the Alliance of Inmates with AIDS) and provide health and HIV/AIDS information to those incarcerated in New York State prisons.

Awareness of Hepatitis C

The Commission organized the Hepatitis C coalition for advocacy and group support to give a voice to those living with Hepatitis C.

Building the Capacity of Organizations Serving Latinos

The Commission offers assistance to programs serving the Latino community in every aspect of programmatic and organizational development. The annual New York State AIDS conference, Reunion Latina, provides skills building, networking and strategy for over 300 HIV/AIDS service providers. In addition, the Manos Unidas partnership was established to strengthen the capacity of local, state, and federally funded organizations to provide effective HIV/AIDS prevention interventions to Latinos, from Maine to New Jersey and in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Demanding Action on Health Disparities for Latinos

Through the Latino Health Advocacy Coalition, the Commission convenes over 200 executive directors, pastors, elected officials, researchers, community leaders and policy makers to explore and address disparities in health outcomes for Latinos.

Establishing Policy Objectives for Addressing AIDS Among Latinos

The Commission continues to expand the Setting Our Agenda coalition, established more than five years ago to develop a comprehensive agenda to effectively address AIDS in the Latino Community through community organizing and building broad consensus on key issues.

Fighting for an HIV/AIDS Vaccine

The Commission recently initiated activities related to a National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, and organized Latinos for an HIV Vaccine Now, a coalition to build awareness and support for HIV Vaccine research and to address the fears and misconceptions that Latinos have about participating in clinical trials for a vaccine.

How can one organization tackle so much? Even with 30 full-time staff, it's a wonder they get it all done. "Our staff is well-disciplined and reliable," remarked Sanchez. "The staff here is composed of all people from Latin America including Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, Central and South America," he added.

Despite their tremendous effort there is still a lot of work needed to be done. Yet, if there is a Latino with HIV/AIDS in New York who has a problem, she is sure to have a resource to go to with the Commission staff.

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