Why Are Community Stakeholders Pressing for a Call to Action to Curtail the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the South?

Nikki R Wooten¹, Baindu S Nallo¹, Carmen H Julious¹+4

• ¹Nikki R. Wooten, PhD, LISW-CP, is assistant professor and Baindu S. Nallo, MSW, is clinical assistant professor, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Hamilton College, Columbia. Carmen H. Julious, MSW, is chief executive officer, Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services, Columbia, SC. Debra Weeks, BS, is chief executive officer, C. W. Williams Community Health Center, Charlotte, NC. Christopher Lee, BS, is executive director, Columbia Oral Health Clinic, Columbia, SC. Tyler M. Singleton, BSW, is an MSW student, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Hamilton College, Columbia. Llewellyn J. Cornelius, PhD, LCSW, is Donald Lee Hollowell distinguished professor and director, Center for Social Justice, Human and Civil Rights, University of Georgia, Athens. The HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse Interdisciplinary Workgroup is a university-community partnership involving faculty and students from the College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia; School of Social Work, University of Georgia, Athens; Department of Social Work, North Carolina A & T State University, Greensboro; School of Social Work, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University, Durham; Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia; and Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro (Chairperson: Llewellyn J. Cornelius, PhD, LCSW; co-chairperson: Nikki R. Wooten, PhD, LISW-CP). This interdisciplinary workgroup acknowledges collaborative community partnerships with Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services, Columbia, SC; Columbia Oral Health Clinic, Columbia; C. W. Williams Community Health Center, Charlotte, NC; Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition Inc., Atlanta; St. Stephens House, Augusta, GA; and Georgia Equity, Atlanta. The HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse Interdisciplinary Workgroup was funded by the College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia (Principal Investigator: Nikki R. Wooten, PhD, LISW-CP).