Statements
Mission
Street Works' mission is to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and provide care and supportive services for those infected and affected through outreach, education, and advocacy in communities of greatest risk.
Background
Street Works has been breaking down barriers since 1997 when Ron Crowder founded the organization. In 2000 Street Works was charted as a non-profit corporation to be a mobile outreach agency that provided late night and weekend HIV prevention and education to communities of color on the inner city streets of Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee. Street Works' mission is to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and to provide supportive services for those infected and affected through outreach, education, care and advocacy in communities of at greatest risk. This mission is accomplished by providing 24-hour, accessible and culturally relevant services to high-risk minority communities. From the outset, Street Works established a strong community presence by providing services when and where people most need them: during non-traditional hours and in locations known for high drug use and sex industry work. While outreach can work well in the day, Street Works' target population is often not present in the community during daytime hours. Consequently, during late night hours the outreach team sets up the mobile testing van in heavy drug use areas and offers food and bottled water as a way to engage individuals in prevention conversations and provide prevention materials. Many addicted persons will choose crack over food and are grateful for a bite to eat and water to drink.Poverty, homelessness and addiction are notoriously massive barriers to accessing HIV care. Street Works breaks down these barriers to prevent the spread of HIV in populations most disproportionately affected by the virus: African Americans and people of color living in poverty. Over the last 12 years, the organization has successfully expanded services and currently provides HIV care services including medical case management, emergency financial assistance, housing stability assistance, nutritional assistant, psychosocial support groups and Early Intervention Services (which provides services in Davidson and surrounding counties). Additionally, Street Works offers drug and alcohol pre-treatment services, case management for linkage to treatment services and ongoing recovery support services. Street Works has been providing services to hard to reach population since 2000, helping to facilitate increased psychosocial functioning and improved health through linkages to care, treatment, and supportive services.
Impact
* Street Works generated a revenue stream, which allowed us to be in the black and debt free. Street Works has always worked from a line of credit as all grants are reimbursement based, which keeps small non-profits in a negative cash flow situation. * Street Works, Nashville Cares and United Health entered into a collaboration and became a part of the collaboration college sponsored by Lipscomb HCA, Baptist Healing Trust and the Center for Non Profit Management and the collaboration which is named THRIVE won the Salute to Excellence award for the best collaboration. * 78% of Street Works clients are virally suppressed. This is a great accomplishment given the population we serve. Again this is a testament to our Medical Case Managers (MCM) and our Early Intervention Specialist (EIS) staff.
Needs
1) Unrestricted funds to address the needs of program participants not covered by the various grants. 2) Office space to accommodate consolidating three offices into one location for 25 staff members.3) Grant writer/development staff position to generate unrestricted funding to endow the organization.4) A van to transport participants to/from services.
CEO Statement
As a person living with AIDS and as a former drug addict, my vision for this organization comes with passion and deliverance. I started Street Works from the trunk of my car with absolutely no budget. My drive came from knowing the trials and tribulation of this catastrophic epidemic. I have been managing this organization by myself for several years and I am proud to know that because of my tenacity, I have expanded the organization from the trunk of my car to over a $1 million budget with three sites.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Diseases, Disorders & Medical Disciplines - AIDS |
| Secondary Category: | Mental Health & Crisis Intervention - Addictive Disorders NEC |
| Tertiary Category: | Housing, Shelter - Alliances & Advocacy |
Areas Served
We serve the Nashville TGA (Transitional Grant Area) comprised of 13 counties in Middle Tennessee: Cannon, Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Hickman, Macon, Robertson, Rutherford, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale, Williamson, and Wilson.
| TN - Cannon |
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Hickman |
| TN - Macon |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Smith |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Trousdale |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
