The Black Coalition on AIDS (BCA) began as a group of community individuals in 1986 who responded to the urgent needs of the African American community that was being devastated by HIV/AIDS. They came together to address the fact that there were no agencies available to provide culturally sensitive services to Blacks infected with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS. The group created a community-based, coalition-building organization to ensure Black people would receive appropriate services and be adequately represented in policy decisions.
This grassroots coalition expanded their efforts to educate and provide advocacy services for African Americans in the local community with case management, needle exchange and street outreach, youth services, transgender services, HIV testing and overall health and wellness programs and services.
Out of these grass roots organizing efforts, BCA went on to provide education and advocacy services primarily to Blacks living in the City of San Francisco. In response to the demand for services to clients, BCA created its most successful volunteer program — Rafiki Services. The program provided training and developed a network of volunteers to assist people of color with AIDS. Rafiki Services was also highly successful at generating a heightened awareness of AIDS in the Black community.
To meet the needs of more and more Blacks infected with, and affected by, HIV/AIDS, BCA began offering Case Management, Needle Exchange and Street Outreach, Youth Services, AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Enrollment, Transgender Services, Treatment Education and HIV Testing. BCA incorporated other programs into the coalition to insure the continuation of critically-needed services.
In response to increasing HIV/AIDS-related homelessness, BCA obtained its first contract from the SFDPH in 1991 to provide HIV/AIDS services in Bayview-Hunters Point in a fourteen-bed facility. Three years later, the Rafiki Housing Program was awarded a Support for Programs of National Significance (SPNS) grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. BCA was able to open an eleven-bed transitional housing facility in July of 1998 in the Western Addition, christened the Brandy Moore House after an early BCA director and housing advocate.
In 1999, BCA established an HIV Ministry and was able to accomplish a goal many in the community had dreamed of for years: getting the Black churches more actively involved in fighting HIV/AIDS. "In the Spirit of Health" incorporated positive imagery of older Black women; enfolded the need for HIV testing within the general rubric of health issues these women faced; and developed materials such as church fans and bible markers to reach this audience. The campaign has received recognition and emulation from throughout California.
BCA has expanded its programs and services to encompass the broader community health disparities in the African American with programs, partners and services that focus on targeted health issues in the community.
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