In January 2017, the North Carolina Community AIDS Fund granted $2,500 to support the distribution of the film “Thicker Than Blood” to various locations across North Carolina. The film was produced by Second Glance Productions, in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and CHISCA (Community Health Interventions and Sickle Cell Agency, Inc). It premiered on February 7^th in recognition of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and was shown in Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Greenville, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem on February 7^thand 8^th. The film was made to dispel myths and increase awareness and knowledge about HIV, homosexuality, and the stigma surrounding these issues; and to encourage discussion that addresses the social, cultural and structural barriers faced by HIV+, LGBTQ community members, and even persons who are unaware of their HIV status. Our grant went to CHISCA for them to support the film’s distribution as part of their Safe Spaces Stigma Awareness Campaign. CHISCA has considerable experience working with Black/African-Americans living with HIV and is among the first community-based organizations to actively reach out to, engage, and employ individuals of color living with HIV. 

In November 2016, NCCAF granted $2,500 to support the Trinity House CLT’s Mind, Body & Spirit  (MBS) Program. Trinity House CLT is a community-based organization that was established in 2014 in Charlotte, NC.  Its mission is to provide HIV preventive education; to offer compassionate support for those diagnosed and impacted by HIV, whose voices remain unheard and to provide services to the population most at risk of acquiring the virus; creating an environment that embraces the whole individual without judgment and with full acceptance. The primary purpose of the MBS program is to address the optimal health outcomes utilizing the role of faith leaders in the community in changing the course of the epidemic in the fight against HIV and to empower congregations with the knowledge and support about HIV/AIDS. Increased HIV prevention and treatment efforts need to slow and reverse AIDS epidemic with confidential testing to decrease infection rates in the community. The Faith Program will focus on providing leadership on solutions to the faith community by advocating and empowering congregations to become effective voices advocating for HIV/AIDS.