AIDS Community Research Initiative Of America

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AIDS Community Research Initiative Of America
230 West 38th Street, 17th Floor
New York, New York 10018
Ph: 212) 924-3934
Fx: 212) 924-3936

ACRIA was founded as the Community Research Initiative on AIDS (CRIA) in December 1991 by a group of physicians, activists, and people living with HIV who were frustrated by the slow pace of government and academic AIDS research. Under the pioneering leadership of prominent AIDS physicians and researchers like Drs. Joseph Sonnabend and Mathilde Krim, and following the lead of trailblazers like Michael Callen of the PWA Coalition, this truly dynamic group brought an activist approach to the study of new treatments for HIV and AIDS. Since that time we have contributed to the development of more than a dozen medications that have received FDA approval, helping countless thousands of HIV-positive people live longer, healthier lives.

ACRIA added a treatment education component to its efforts in 1997, offering group workshops and individual counseling on a variety of AIDS- and HIV-related topics, arming people living with the virus with the information and skills they need to participate actively and knowledgeably in their own healthcare. Today, our internationally acclaimed HIV Health Literacy Program (HHLP) also offers staff training to a whole range of AIDS and other community-based organizations throughout New York City and State, and in communities large and small all across the country. Our technical assistance and capacity building equip these groups to integrate HIV healthcare and treatment education information into the services they provide their own HIV-positive and at-risk clients.

Our HIV health literacy activities have likewise grown to include the publication of unique booklets, each addressing a different key topic in HIV healthcare. Our library includes Treatment Issues for Women, Managing Drug Side Effects, Viral Hepatitis & HIV, Understanding Your Lab Results, and Older Adults & HIV, among others. Additionally, our treatment and health literacy quarterly, ACHIEVE, is distributed to tens of thousands of people living with HIV and their caregivers each year, helping them to make smart, informed decisions and stay healthy.

© ACRIA