Youth & HIV/AIDS: An American Agenda

Acknowledgments

We are very grateful for this insight and appreciate the time taken by scores of individuals and organizations to draw out the many complicated issues surrounding HIV and AIDS among young people. This report reflects the knowledge, concerns, and commitments of those individuals and the people they serve.

The National AIDS Fund coordinated the preparation of this report and supervised the administration of grants from the Until There's A Cure Foundation and James C. Hormel. In addition, the Fund recruited four interns who conducted much of the report's research and preparation. The Fund also arranged visits to local programs of significance. Paula Van Ness, Fund President, brought tougher funders, youth experts and staff to help make this public-private initiative possible. The project was managed for the Fund by Jerry Atchinson, Director of Communications. Dennis Stover, Director of Programs, coordinated visits to PMI sites and provided valuable guidance. Providing important oversight and coordination efforts among youth groups around the country was Gretchen Wooden, Senior Program Officer for Youth Initiatives.

In the Office of National AIDS Policy, Brenda Kunkel and Richard Sorian assisted in directing and completing this project along with Jeff Levi, Alexandra Milonas, LaHoma Romocki, Jane Sanville, and Carmena Parris. Several White House interns and volunteers were also helpful in the research and preparation for this report: Jesse Souweine, Michael Bishop, Julie Blessing, Lisa DaValle, Rachel Garfield, Brenda Hahn, Vanessa Potkin, Jessica Purdy, Katie Smeltz, and Rachel Smith.

Numerous organizations, both national an local, were instrumental in providing us with the direct access to young people and their advocates. The AIDS Policy Center for Children, Youth and Families, the National Alliance of Positive Youth (NAPY), the Institute for Family Centers Care, Metro TeenAIDS, the National Association of State Boards of Education, and participants at the National Youth Summit on the Prevention of AIDS Among Youth were especially helpful. We also appreciate the assistance of the National Advocacy Coalition on Youth and Sexual Orientation (NACYSO), the National Youth Network, the Latino/a Lesbian and Gay Organization.

Transportation for representatives of youth and HIV education and advocacy groups was generously provided by USAir.

Several Federal agencies made major contributions to the content of this report: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Resources and Services Administration, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Institutes of Health, Health Care Financing Administration, and Food and Drug Administration.

The following list includes some, but certainly not all, of the individuals who provided assistance during the research and preparation of this report. Many of the young people with whom we met preferred to remain anonymous and we, of course, respect those wishes. Each of them should know that they have made an important contribution to this report and to our national response to HIV and AIDS.

The National AIDS Fund

The National AIDS Fund is the nation's largest philanthropic and grant making organization dedicated to eliminating HIV and AIDS as a major health and social problem. It works in partnership with communities to provide care and to prevent new infections through education, research, and outreach. Since it was founded, the Fund has provided almost $50 million to communities for HIV/AIDS programs, supporting more than 2,400 such programs in 31 states. The Fund also provides programs and technical assistance for hundreds of national and local educational programs -- such as the Youth and HIV/AIDS Report -- and programs of direct service. The Fund also provides the nation's business community a network of leading corporate, government, and nonprofit experts who deal with HIV/AIDS policy issues, and it publishes a broad range of HIV/AIDS publications for both managers and employers.

The Until There's A Cure Foundation

The Until There's A Cure Foundation, principal funder of the Youth and HIV/AIDS Report, provides funding for innovative education programs to encourage safer behaviors among teens and young adults through peer-to-peer education. For those living with HIV/AIDS, the Foundation provides financial support for care and other services. For future generations, the Foundation supports AIDS vaccine development with funds being primarily contributed through the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative of the Rockefeller Foundation. Through partnerships with professional sports teams, the Foundation has reached audiences with its message of AIDS awareness. The Foundation was created by Kathleen Scutchfield and Dana Capiello, two mothers and entrepreneurs who have raised funds to support Foundation Initiatives through sale of The Bracelet, a 1/4-inch cuff bracelet featuring a familiar small raised AIDS ribbon.

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