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Gay
Men's HIV/STD Prevention Task Force
Welcome Packet
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MISSION:
The Gay Men's HIV/STD Task Force supports and guides ongoing
effective and comprehensive prevention responses to
HIV and STDs among MSM in
the Seattle area.
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Welcome!
Thank you for your interest in the Gay Men's HIV/STD Taskforce. On these pages you
will find the history, some background information on the taskforce,
contact information for taskforce members, previous advertising
campaigns and a contact information form that you can print out
and use to send to us or bring to the first meeting you attend.
Information on this form will be used for taskforce activities
only.
Please feel free to contact anyone on the list if you have any
further questions or would like any more information. Thank you for your
interest in the taskforce.
Taskforce contact information:
Quinten Welch
Educator Consultant
Public Health - Seattle & King County
400 Yesler
Way,
3rd Floor, Seattle, WA 98104
Office: (206) 205-8671; Fax: (206) 205-5281
Email: quinten.welch@metrokc.gov
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The Who, What and Hows of Taskforce activities
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Who We
Are
The Gay Men's HIV/STD Taskforce is a coalition of community individuals,
leaders and service providers dedicated to supporting and addressing
the prevention and health needs of men who have sex with men in
Seattle King County.
What We
Do
Our goal is to develop and coordinate health prevention
messages, activities and programs to improve the health and quality of life
for all men who have sex with men in the community. The Taskforce is open
to all interested individuals. Members have various backgrounds both
personally and professionally in men who have sex with men health issues
and life experiences.
How We
Do It
The general Taskforce meets once a month to discuss activities,
provide training’s and coordinate messages and programs related
to prevention and advocacy for men who have sex with men in Seattle King County.
Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month from 3-5pm at Lifelong AIDS Alliance, 1002 E Seneca St.
The meetings are facilitated and coordinated by staff from Public
Health - Seattle & King County. There are a number of sub-committees,
which do the bulk of the work in deciding the work and activities
of the taskforce. This includes the Steering Committee, People
of Color Committee, Substance Abuse Committee and the Ad
Hoc Manifesto/Evaluation Committee.
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The Task Force eagerly welcomes people who want to contribute
to our efforts in any number of ways. There are many ways for you to
participate, from adding your presence and your voice to any of our
meetings, to numerous projects. If you would like to talk with a Task Force
member about ways you can contribute to our work, please complete and
submit the following form.
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The Gay Men's HIV/STD Taskforce began as an action item
from the final report of the Seattle Gay Men's Health Summit that
was held on World AIDS day December 1st 2000. The action item included establishing a broad-based
GBM HIV/STD prevention coalition to standardize educational messages,
examine and disseminate community norms, develop emotional health
resources and develop fundraising strategies.
The Gay Men's HIV/STD Taskforce is a coalition of community individuals,
leaders and service providers dedicated to supporting and addressing
the prevention and health needs of Gay and Bisexual men in Seattle King County.
The Taskforce is open to all interested individuals. Members have
various backgrounds and community experiences in gay and bisexual
men's health issues. The Taskforce strives to be inclusive of
all of the various opinions and philosophies related to eliminating
the spread of HIV and STDs in the community while also improving
the overall health outcomes of Gay and Bisexual men. We also endeavor
to coordinate prevention messages and provide up to date HIV and
STD information to the community.
Timeline
- December 2000 - Taskforce convened
- Spring 2002 - Syphilis advertising campaign initiated.
- August-October 2002 - Taskforce on hiatus.
- November 2002 - Taskforce reformed.
- May-July 2003 - Development of Manifesto.
- October 2003 - Presentation of Community Manifesto.
- October 2003 to present - Evaluation of Manifesto,
introduction of Ad Hoc Manifesto/Evaluation Committee, People of Color
Committee
Membership
Task Force membership is open to anyone who supports the
mission of the group. (Adopted 1-13-03)
Voting eligibility
- New members must attend two consecutive meetings to
earn voting privileges; voting members who miss two consecutive
meetings lose their privileges, but can earn them back at the second
meeting attended after the absence.
- Voting privileges apply to the Steering and General
Taskforce meetings. Anyone is eligible to vote at all other committees
regardless of attendance.
- Voting privileges are conferred on individuals, not
agencies or organizations. (Adopted 11-18-02, Re-confirmed 1-13-03)
Decision-making model
- A quorum equals 50% + 1 of the currently eligible
voting members. (Adopted 1-13-03)
- Decisions are passed by 60% of a quorum. (Adopted 1-13-03)
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Committees-structure, goals
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Steering Committee
The goal of the Steering Committee is to provide overall
direction for the taskforce. This includes supplying guidance for the
facilitator on crucial taskforce business and providing leadership for
taskforce activities.
The Steering Committee reviews work plans for the Taskforce,
sets meeting agendas, makes recommendations, reviews and replies to press
and communications regarding the Manifesto and assists in the coordination
of all Taskforce activities. The Steering Committee is open to all
participants of the Taskforce but only voting eligible members of the
taskforce are allowed to vote on proposed recommendations. The committee
meets once a month.
Manifesto Ad Hoc Committee
The goal of the Manifesto Ad Hoc Committee is to coordinate
activities for the evaluation, editing and reconsideration of themes and language
related to the Community Manifesto.
This group will develop an evaluation strategy, implement the
plan, analyze the data and produce a report based on the collected
information. The committee will also make recommendations to the general
taskforce on the efficacy of the manifesto as a continuing prevention
strategy to engage the community on safer sex norms and behaviors. Meets
once, sometimes twice a month. Locations and times vary check with facilitator
for times.
Substance Abuse Committee
The goal of the Substance Abuse Committee is to provide
coordination, direction, and information to the taskforce on issues related
to substance abuse in the gay and bisexual men’s community.
This includes activities related to analyzing and researching
local strategies involving crystal and other drugs, suggesting prevention
strategies and programs, developing a resource list for substance abuse
issues, exploring the idea of a media plan to target certain issues and researching
resources that could possibly fund certain initiatives. Meets once a month.
Locations and times vary check with facilitator for times.
People of Color Committee
The goals of the People of Color Committee are to a) Increase
the relevance of the MSM Task Force to people of color and to the
organizations that serve them b) Increase awareness among members of the
MSM Task Force of programs serving people of color.
Ongoing activities include compiling a list of programs by
agencies to increase general knowledge and awareness of MSM Task Force
members, special events to be updated monthly and announced at MSM Task
Force meetings, presentations from agencies to introduce and describe
programs targeting MSM of color. Meets once a month. Locations and times
vary check with facilitator for times.
Other Committees
There will be many opportunities for the introduction of new
committees for the taskforce that will be based on the need and interest of
taskforce members to address future and ongoing issues related to the
health and well being of men who have sex with men in our community.
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The syphilis campaign was a broadly targeted two-tiered media
campaign. Its first goal was to grab the attention of men in Seattle and raise
syphilis awareness. The second goal was to provide an incentive
for men in the community to take action on this issue. This was
followed up by a plan to coordinate consistent syphilis prevention
messages through the work and activities of the Gay Men's HIV/STD
Taskforce. Active members included prevention providers, community
individuals, leaders and service providers of the coalition dedicated
to addressing this prevention and health issue for men who have
sex with men in Seattle and King County.
The designated partner and facilitator of this process at this
time were Lifelong AIDS Alliance. In this process Lifelong coordinated the
development and implementation of the campaign along with the members of
the MSM HIV/STD Taskforce.
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