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Founded in 1983, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts is a
not-for-profit, community-based health organization whose mission is to
stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic by preventing new infections and optimizing
the health of those already infected.
Through a cooperative and mutually supportive effort between over 70
staff and hundreds of volunteers, AIDS Action seeks to assist and
constructively work with people of all cultures by providing services,
education, advocacy and prevention.
AIDS Action accomplishes that mission by providing support services for
people living with AIDS and HIV; educating the public and health
professionals about how to prevent HIV transmission; and advocating for
fair and effective AIDS policy at the city, state and federal levels.
AIDS Action provides free, confidential services to 2,500 men, women
and children living with HIV/AIDS as well as prevention services to
thousands of men, women and youth who are not living with HIV or do not
know their status.
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AIDS
Action Committee (AAC) developed this website with funding from the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH).
In preparation for the launch of the hotline and website, AAC conducted
key informant interviews with those working in the fields of family
planning, HIV/STI prevention, domestic violence, sexual assault and
youth services, in addition to youth focus groups in order to better
comprehend what teenagers understand about emergency contraception and
to identify some of the barriers that exist that might make it
difficult for youth to access emergency contraception.
Through these focus groups and meetings, we discovered that when
discussing emergency contraception, many questions arise surrounding
other sexual health issues, and many Massachusetts youth do not have a
reliable and trusted source to answer such questions. In
order to provide more comprehensive and inclusive information, this
website addresses a broad range of sexual health issues related to
emergency contraception. The purpose of the hotline and website is to
provide callers with information, support, and make appropriate
statewide referrals.
This
is AAC’s first prevention initiative that does not address HIV
directly. While this is a small departure for us, we could
not be more thrilled to be offering this service to Massachusetts residents. We
feel strongly that the issues that are addressed through the Maria
Talks website and Sexual Health Helpline are not only paramount in
safeguarding the general, sexual health of those who utilize
the service, but can and will have an impact on their risk for
HIV.
AAC is very proud of this initiative and we welcome any feedback you
may have on how we can improve the Maria Talks site or the services we
provide. Feedback can be addressed to hotline@aac.org
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