Salud Latina's Programs

Illinois Latino HIV Statewide Network

Salud Latina/Latino Health, OASIS and Project VIDA with the support of the Illinois Department of Public Health, public health and advocacy stakeholders, and in collaboration with a broad statewide representation of HIV service provider organizations is establishing the Latino HIV Statewide Network. In representation of this group we are inviting new partners to become active members of this initiative. The overall goal is “to establish a permanent Latino HIV Statewide Network of HIV providers that engage Latinos in HIV education, outreach, testing and continuum of care services”. During the first six months of the year 2008 the ILHIVSN expects 1) To conduct an assessment process identifying providers that deliver HIV services to Latinos throughout the State of Illinois; 2) To analyze and interpret data from surveys, interviews and other sources to define strengths, gaps, opportunities and strategies to propose system changes, and 3) To develop a communication strategy to inform IDPH, CDPH, public health officials and legislators about priorities that impact the delivery of HIV services to Latinos in Illinois.

To join the Illinois Latino HIV Statewide Network or for additional information please contact Patricia Canessa or Mayra Chacon at (312) 913-3001.

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Por Nuestra Salud

the Por Nuestra Salud program is working to develop an HIV prevention program targeting high-risk Latino Immigrants and recent immigrants who reside in rural and non-urban areas of Illinois.

Program Description

The SL/LH, in partnership with Community Health Partnership of Illinois (CHP), is developing an HIV prevention program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) targeting high-risk Latino migrants and recent immigrants who reside in rural and suburban areas of Illinois. The focus of activity in the first year will be Kane County.

Goals

The overall goal of this project is to increase the number and proportion of highrisk migrant and immigrant Latinos residing in non-metropolitan areas who:
• Adopt effective HIV risk reduction and prevention behaviors
• Know their HIV sero-status and,
• For those who test positive for HIV be successfully integrated into HIV care
services including case management, treatment and supportive services.

General Information

This project is grounded in the principles of collaboration. SL/LH and CHP will contribute with their expertise to develop a culturally and linguistically competent model of HIV Prevention. The Popular Opinion Leader (POL) model will serve as a strategy to promote HIV prevention, early testing, and adherence to treatment.

The Popular Opinion Leader model is similar to the Promotores de Salud concept, in which community members disseminate health promotion messages to their communities to prevent the advance of a disease or risk-behavior. Our project will adapt, tailor, and translate curricular material utilizing the expert advice from programs that have successfully utilized this model. Upon adaptation, a testing phase with the integration of POLs or promotores will follow. By the end of the project, POLs/promotores will be able to disseminate information and train new leaders in how to prevent HIV in their communities.

Among one of the most important roles of the POL is to develop an informative and trusting relationship with their communities, giving advice about HIV counseling, testing and referral services. And therefore, migrant and immigrant Latinos will be encouraged to have timely HIV testing increase their likelihood of receiving treatment and protecting their partners from the infection.

In summary, Por Nuestra Salud will consist of the adaptation and integration of two interventions:
1. Popular Opinion Leader
2. HIV Counseling, Testing, and Referral

If you have any questions, please contact our Por Nuestra Salud Field Coordinator Perla Y. Sifuentes (630)892-6371  at our office located at 143 South Lincoln, Suite I, Aurora, IL 60505.

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Violence Prevention Program

The Violence Prevention Program is working with seventh grade students in the Pilsen community of Chicago to help them develop a strong & confident positive self identity. the program also focuses on helping the youth understand the importance of tolerance, respect and empathy with others.

The violence prevention program is designed to help young Latino youth develop a strong and confident positive self identity, understand the importance of tolerance, respect, assertiveness, self control, and develop a strong understanding of the negatives of gant life. The development of these traits are built up through group and peer trainings, role-playing, and group reasoning/discussion.

The program is designed to equip the participants with the skill of effective verbal/assertive communication with the intention of improving the lines of communication within the families of the participants. The improved communication is expected to result in non aggressive tones and dialogue between families. The improved communication will also help the participants and their families by being agle to better understand what each member of the family wants through expressing what they want in a clear manner.

The program not only aims at reducing the likelihood of domestic violence within the home, but also of influencing the program participants in such a way that would hopefully deter them from participating in acts of violence or abuse towards their friends and elders outside of the house. The program is designed to equip the participants with both anger management & self-control skills. These skills will be useful for the participants to not react violently, rather respond in a measured way when they feel frustrated or stressed out by one of their family members or peers.

Why we are working with the Pilsen Latino Youth Community?

According to statistics compiled by the University of Illinois, "Chicago Community Area Demographics"

We want to help develop the following skills & traits in the participants of our group:

1. We want to develop ethnic pride by:

2. We want to develop respect & tolerance by:

3. We want to develop awareness of adolescent natural development by:

4. We want to develop knowledge of false male stereotypes and roles by:

5. We want to develop the skill to deal with peer pressure by:

6. We want to develop self confidence by:

7. We want to develop anger management skills by:

8. We want to develop assertive communication skills by:

9. We want to develop a clear understanding about gang life/gang involvement by:

By the end of the groups final session, our work will produce results by:

The Success of the program will be measured not only by the evaluation of the program by both the parents and the students, but also by comparing the record of each student in terms of how many times they got in trouble the previous year to their record of this concluding school year. We hope to see a decline in the amount of instances that the students were reprimanded for misbehavior on an average.

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