Engaging Arkansas Communities
Being diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, can be overwhelming. Testimonies of individuals devastated because of a diagnosis are heartbreaking. Stories of persons subjected to a lifetime of sexual abuse who never genuinely loved or lived, are far too common. Too many people living with HIV feel they are treated as less than others. Often people avoid HIV prevention and testing because they feel stigmatized for their sexual choices.
Engaging Arkansas Communities believes everyone deserves to feel valued while leading healthy, successful lives. You often hear about the importance of physical, mental, and spiritual health, but feeling confident about your sexuality is also important. Care and treatment for sexual health must be more than paperwork, forms, screenings, and brochures. These are never enough.
Engaging Arkansas Communities is a convergence of likeminded, passionate individuals purposefully engaging and empowering Arkansans to achieve the self-value they desire in life. Our staff offers the authentic provision of reassurance, acceptance, understanding, and encouragement during the stress or emotional discomfort of sexual health care (STI checks), treatment, and prevention.
As a progressive nonprofit organization, we share three common values:
- Every person with HIV deserves the opportunity to live a fulfilling, purpose-filled life.
- Community is at our core and underserved communities in Arkansas are our focus.
- Engaging people living with HIV in addressing unmet needs in the Arkansas is key.
Mission
Engaging Arkansas Communities is always EPIC...together we are empowering, preventing, innovating, and connecting to serve marginalized communities in Arkansas:
- E = Empowering overlooked and underserved communities
- P = Preventing new HIV/STI exposure until there are no new transmissions
- I = Innovating comprehensive sexual health strategies
- C = Connecting with communities to provide prevention resources
To end the epidemic of HIV in Arkansas, Engaging Arkansas Communities provides HIV/STI prevention education and testing and provides innovative, educational opportunities in all aspects of the sexual health concerns of marginalized communities.
As a nonprofit 501c3 organization, Engaging Arkansas Communities increases awareness of factors which complicate the lives of those impacted by HIV, provides and links people with HIV to a variety of supportive services, and advocates for innovative strategies and resources for their physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being.
Our mission is at the core of every one of our programs. Visit our Programs Page to see how we are empowering and connecting to reach unmet needs in our community.
Vision
Engaging Arkansas Communities envisions a state with no new HIV infections, communities who provide prevention resources to its residents, and where those living with HIV do so with equality and the support they need.
A Community Voice for HIV Work in Arkansas
Leading the Way
Engaging Arkansas Communities has quickly risen as a leader in HIV work in Arkansas, assisting in planning and leadership including committee work, discussion, facilitation, and retreat planning activities. In 2023, our team--many with valuable lived experiences to share--held more representation in the Arkansas HIV Planning Group (HPG) than any other single organization.
In 2023, EAC was recognized as the very first HIV Community Champion Organization of the Year by our peers with HPG. In addition, EAC’s Executive Director was one of six individuals recognized at this past year’s HPG retreat for his many years of service to the HIV community in Arkansas.
EAC was also recognized as a viable partner for research projects involving HIV in Arkansas. Within a year of completing the Community Partners Educated As Arkansas Research Leaders (CPEARL) Program, our organization was honored to receive The 2023 Chancellor's Community Research Partner Award from the Translational Research Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
We are always working to make a bigger impact in Arkansas when it comes to HIV prevention and care through community-based projects and translational research. Visit our Annual Impact Page to read about our current community-based work in Arkansas.
National Advocate Jeffery Haskins presents EAC as "HIV Community Champion of the Year" in Arkansas
National Spotlight
Sharing Best Practices
Our impact doesn’t stop at the state border. In fact, EAC is fast becoming a nationally recognized voice in HIV. In 2023, EAC’s continued efforts toward a community-based, syndemic approach to routinized screenings for HIV and Hepatitis C as a partner with Gilead Sciences FOCUS Initiative offered a fantastic opportunity to shine a spotlight on EAC nationally.
At the 2023 National FOCUS Partner Summit in Foster City, CA, Executive Director Danny Harris gave two formal presentations and facilitated a panel discussion on best practices in community-level screenings to audiences of peers working in the healthcare field.
In 2024, EAC presented on our agency's successes utilizing a comprehensive, syndemic approach to increase engagement in HIV Comprehensive Prevention Services at two national conferences, including a workshop presentation at the 2024 National HIV Biomedical Summit in Seattle, WA and a poster presentation at SYNChronicity in Washington, D.C.
Visit our Annual Impact Page to read more about EAC's contributions to the HIV field on the national level.
Danny Harris facilitates a panel discussion at the 2023 National FOCUS Partner Summit in California
Memberships
Partnerships
