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Community Partner
EMPOWER U INC.
8309 N.W. 22nd Avenue, Miami FL
http://www.power-u-miami.org/ MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Empower U, Incorporated is to empower, educate, and promote better health care choices for individuals & families infected with and affected by health disparities, particularly HIV/AIDS spectrum disease, and populations at risk for HIV infections within communities of color. VISION STATEMENT
Until there is a cure for AIDS, when Empower U accomplishes it mission, all PLWH will have equitable access to care thus live longer, healthier lives, and new HIV infections will be eliminated. SERVICES PROVIDED
Empower U provides HIV/AIDS care and prevention services to low-income individuals, primarily African-Americans, living with HIV/AIDS or at high risk of contracting HIV in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Specific services include confidential HIV counseling, testing and linkage service, case management for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS, long-term housing certification and supportive services, outreach, prevention case management for HIV+ and high risk individuals, and emergency support services (transportation passes, grocery, identification, birth certificate). Empower Uís services are funded through federal, state and local government and private foundation grants. TARGET POPULATION
Research has shown a correlation between HIV and substance abuse. Empower Uís target population is characterized by a ìhardcoreî drug using culture of Black/African Americans living with HIV/AIDS or at high risk of contracting HIV, particularly users of crack cocaine. This is the population that the agency has served since its inception in 1999. SERVICE AREA
Empower U, located at 8309 N.W. 22nd Avenue, is centrally located in the Miami-Dade Health Department Zone’s IV. Its service area included both Zones IV and V, both of which have the highest concentrations of HIV/AIDS and street drug use, the highest rates of poverty, and the highest rate of uninsured & underinsured in the County. This area is inhabited primarily Black/African-American drug users, specifically users of crack cocaine and/or injection drugs -- Empower Uís target population. Local residents call this area the ìTriangle of Deathî: because it is plagued by high rates of HIV infection and AIDS cases, poverty, and overwhelmed by substance use and trade. Separately, Zones IV and V have the highest and second highest numbers of cumulative AIDS cases in the County, as well as the highest and third highest numbers of cumulative HIV cases. Together, these areas account for 33.7% of the Countyís AIDS cases and 30.5% of the HIV cases. |
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