WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR ORGANIZING FOR AIDS JUSTICE

Suki Ports, Family Health Project

Prevention Justice Seminar

November 3, 2004

Suki Terada Ports has been a community activist since the 1960s. In 1989, she founded the Family Health Project (FHP) to raise awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS on communities of color. FHP provides information to national policymakers and local public officials, conducts workshops for medical personnel, academics and funders, and organizes conferences among service providers to share resources. FHP also conducts direct outreach to low-income women of color and their families in parenting centers, schools and the streets. Each year, FHP reaches more than 500 individuals and their families with HIV/AIDS prevention information and provides referrals to services to those already infected.

FHP also assists other groups dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Mrs. Terada Ports has helped create organizations that serve communities with distinct needs such as the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA), the Minority Task Force on AIDS and Iris House, the first comprehensive center for women with HIV/AIDS in New York City. She is a founder of VOW (Voices of Women of Color Against HIV/AIDS) and a member of the planning committee for the first conference held in New York City discussing issues affecting women of color.

Recommended Readings
Women and People of Color Organizing