In order to make this a true community partnership, FACAA has teamed up with collaborative partners to include Sister Love, the Georgia Department of Community Health, Morehouse School of Medicine and AID Atlanta.  Together with these agencies, Stepping Stones focuses on creating more community awareness.

The program also focuses on teaching the facts about the disease and helping those that are most in need, such as the homeless and low-income individuals, with specific emphasis on African American and Latino populations residing in the city of Atlanta and Fulton County, the geographical service area of FACAA.  
 

FACAA will soon host four one-hour training sessions over the course of one month in an effort to prepare facilitators to bring the program to the community.  As such, churches and other community groups are invited to send leaders to Stepping Stones so that they may become facilitators.

Some of the statistics surrounding HIV/AIDS are startling.  For instance, Georgia ranks 8th in the nation in terms of the highest number of AIDS cases.  Also, those in the age group of 13-25 have the highest rate of infection.  Through Stepping Stones, the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS will be talked about more openly with the hopes of providing more insight on the issue as well as aiming to eradicate the negative stigma that has long been associated with it. 

For more information on the Stepping Stones program, contact Rosalind Brown at (404) 320-0166 x208.  Also, listed below are a few links for facts and additional resources.

http://www.sisterlove.org/sl_facts.htm