PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
February 29, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. Starting in March 2012, a new HIV prevention collaborative will provide a comprehensive network of HIV prevention and social support services to San Francisco's transgender community. The collaborative, called TransformSF, seeks to increase access to culturally- and linguistically-competent HIV testing and treatment services for high-risk transgender people, particularly transgender women, of all races and ethnicities.

TransformSF is funded by San Francisco Department of Public Health as part of an ambitious, new HIV prevention strategy instituted in late 2011. "Reducing new HIV infections in the transgender community is an essential part of the City's new HIV prevention plan," said Tracey Packer, Deputy Director of SFDPH's HIV Prevention Section. "The collaborating organizations have the expertise and community trust needed to help us reach our ambitious goal of cutting new HIV infections in half by 2017."

San Francisco's transgender community continues to be disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. According to SFDPH, transgender people comprise less than 1% of the general population but account for 2% of all people living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco. A number of factors contribute to the HIV risk for the transgender community, including discrimination, poverty, homelessness and limited access to culturally competent health care.

"Transgender women and men face high levels of discrimination in all aspects of life, including HIV testing, treatment and health care," said Theresa Sparks, executive director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. "We need innovative solutions to the HIV epidemic made by and for the transgender community. TransformSF is that solution."

TransformSF will meet the City's HIV prevention goal of administering 500 tests to high-risk transgender women and men per year through an aggressive outreach and HIV testing strategy at multiple sites in San Francisco. Collaborating organizations provide linkage to high quality culturally- and linguistically-competent HIV prevention programs as well as treatment and care services to assist people living with HIV in managing the disease. The collaborative is also publishing a comprehensive list of city-wide social support services available to the transgender community.

About TransformSF
TransformSF, a coalition of community-based organizations, believes in a San Francisco where the transgender community--particularly transgender women of color--can flourish and thrive. We strengthen the health safety net for San Francisco's transgender community through a comprehensive network of culturally and linguistically-appropriate HIV testing, social support, counseling and referrals. TransformSF community partners are Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center?s TRANS:THRIVE program, El/La, Instituto Familiar de la Raza, and Native American AIDS Project. To find out more please visit: www.transformsf.org.

About Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center is a health services, education, research and policy organization dedicated to educating, supporting, empowering and advocating for Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) communities--particularly A&PIs living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS. With staff fluent in 20 languages, A&PI Wellness Center delivers programs regionally, statewide, and nationally, and collaborates with community-based organizations throughout the Asia Pacific Region. For press materials or more information please visit www.apiwellness.org.

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