Programs

The Programs of Nevada AIDS Project

Early on in the HIV/AIDS pandemic Lisa Hernandez worked with the community in Las Vegas to better the lives of those with HIV and their loved ones. She started the community based organization Nevada AIDS Project. Her work is well known in the Las Vegas valley, as well as throughout Nevada and beyond.

Our current group started as Nevada Education, Prevention, Research and Advocacy (NEPRA) in December of 2005. This was a mouthful to say however, and shortly afterward we came up with the name Nevada AIDS Project. As our new group got to be known we were told that this name had been used in the past, by Lisa Hernandez. We contacted Lisa and she explained that the group of the past supported the community with meals and assistance with basic human needs. The newly formed NAP, as you may know, has a very different focus.

Nevada AIDS Project now promotes HIV Self Care Knowledge, Transmission Prevention, Pharmaceuticals and Treatment Research, and engages in Advocacy for the HIV+ Community, all the while working toward a culture of disclosure and acceptance for and among the HIV+.

Education and Prevention

The Positive Living Curriculum was written to teach HIV+ persons the best ways to maintain and improve their physical and mental health. It was funded in part by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and was created in San Diego, California by Carolyn Hunt, who directed the Primary Prevention for Positives (P3) program in Tucson, Arizona, and Dennis Dunn, who is now our Executive Director.

The curriculum was created for the HIV+ population but can be adapted to other cultures and target populations. It is currently an eight week course of once-per-week two hours classes for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. The curriculum includes the following topics:

  • Assertiveness
  • Breathing
  • Toxins
  • Nutrition and Water
  • HIV Knowledge and Involvement
  • Crisis Coping
  • Stress Management
  • Self-care when Ill
  • Sexual Health and Transmission Prevention
  • Doctor Relationships
  • Communication Skills
  • Depression
  • Sleep
  • Grief and Loss
  • Infections (Non-sexual)
  • Balanced Living

    • Please click here if you would like to e-mail us for more information, or visit the About NAP page for our phone numbers.

    Our Outreach Hotline is a phone line that is open Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, excepting major U. S. holidays, at (702) 636-1800. Here we are available to answer any questions about services in the Las Vegas Region for the HIV+ and their families and care givers. While we are not medical professionals, we also answer more general questions about the virus and its research and treatment or refer callers to sources that are more authoritative.

    Advocacy

    Nevada AIDS Project assists clients through the continuum of care in Southern Nevada. Clients in our region, and those considering moving here, are guided to appropriate providers who offer services to the HIV/AIDS community. Such services include, but are not limited to:

  • Housing
  • Transportation
  • Medical Care
  • HIV Testing and Counseling
  • AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP)
  • Food and Shelter
  • Emergency Assistance

    • We assist clients in finding the full range of community services at all levels. If you need assistance, or more information about our services, please visit the About NAP page and call or click here to send us an e-mail.

    We are also working to achieve funding for an Ombudsman who can help clients enter the continuum of care, refer clients to local agencies, and intercede between agencies and clients when access is difficult or denied. The hope is that we can keep more clients in care in a community that is currently 70% out of care according to Southern Nevada Health Department statistics.

    We often work with individuals who contact us as well to help them on a temporary basis with services issues they are having in our region.

    This year (2008) we have also begun working with regional and national government to promote better attention to and funding for HIV/AIDS related issues and programs.

    Research

    We are involved in several ways in promoting and funding HIV/AIDS research in Clark County.

    Two or our officers sit on the University of Nevada Medical Center's (UMC) Institutional Review Board. This board reviews procedures for conducting specific human research trials at UMC and makes recommendations for research methods and approvals of trials.

    We connect qualified individuals with anti-viral research studies in Denver, Los Angles, San Diego and San Francisco until our work to bring such studies here to our region bears fruit.

    We are also working with Doctors and Clinics in the region who work or are willing to work with HIV to find and implement research funding and to create and maintain research facilities.

    Essential Furnishings Program:

    The manufactures and vendors in the “Market” donate product which is requested through case managers and given to the HIV/AIDS clients as well as other agencies within the southern Nevada area.

    This is a year round program and based on what is available at the time of the request. If your request has not been filled with in 90 days, resubmit your request for the next cycle of product.

    Case managers may request items by faxing their requests to (702) 477-0048 or Emailing to info@nevadaaidsproject.org.

    Resource Guide Program:

    NAP publishes the only comprehensive resource guide in southern Nevada for the HIV/AIDS community. We are always looking forward to expanding services offered in the guide. If you or someone would like to be added listed please let us know by writing to info@nevadaaidsproject.org

    And a Little Comfort

    Our Suite Charity showroom at the World Market Center Las Vegas provides new, high quality furnishing and accessories at no or low cost to clients in need. Please visit our Suite Charity sub-site for more information.


    Click here to e-mail for more information.