Washington AIDS Partnership Health Corps Program

The Washington AIDS Partnership Health Corps program 

needs your support! 

What is the Washington AIDS Partnership Health Corps Program?

For nearly 30 years, the Washington AIDS Partnership (WAP) recruits, trains, and mentors a team of young people who join its Health Corps Program and commit to a year of full-time direct service at community-based public health organizations in Washington, D.C. Members work closely with their clients, helping to connect them to housing and food, and directly provide hospice and respite care, counseling, and other services. The 2021-2022 Health Corps members provided HIV/STI testing for over 7,000 people; reached nearly 10,000 people through community outreach; referred 8,000 to primary and mental health care services, and connected nearly 25,000 people to food access services. 

The 28th Health Corps team just arrived on August 1st, and they are settling into their host agencies and preparing for a meaningful year. In addition to their regular duties, Health Corps members are serving on the frontlines of the COVID-19 and the Monkeypox (MPV) crises this year.

The Health Corps team gathered for a day of community service. 

Recent financial challenges have placed significant strain on the Health Corps program and placed its future in an extremely precarious position. WAP fellows no longer reside in the beloved Fulton Street house, as the house’s owners chose not to renew their agreement with WAP. WAP has been dedicated to providing housing for all ten fellows since the beginning of the pandemic, and this disruption forced us to search for new homes for the team. This year, the team will reside in the 37th Street house and two new houses nearby in Georgetown. While we are proud to keep our housing commitment to the team, rapidly rising property values forced us to spend $50,000 more than we had expected. Additionally, we have increased the Health Corps team’s stipends to keep up with rising inflation. In light of these circumstances, as well as a decrease in investments from local funders, we are truly worried that it may not be financially feasible for the Health Corps program to continue.  

The Health Corps team and WAP staff participating in a pre-service team-building exercise. 

Health Corps members will need your support to combat HIV, opioid overdoses, COVID-19, MPV, and other public health crises, both this year and beyond. Your donation today will ensure that the Health Corps program continues, support our efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and help us continue providing young people with a life-changing year of service and community. WAP has spent nearly thirty years mentoring Health Corps fellows and watching them develop into powerful and compassionate leaders, and we hope that WAP can continue this work.

Your support will allow us to ensure that more young people can become part of this life-changing program that provides vital support services to the most underserved members of the D.C. community. Please support today!