Aliveness Project says it's losing $450K a year in HIV prevention funding as CDC ends community grant program

The Aliveness Project — a south Minneapolis nonprofit that's provided HIV testing, prevention and support services for nearly four decades — says it's losing roughly $450,000 a year in direct federal funding after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to renew a program that has anchored community-based HIV prevention nationwide since 2020.

"Let me say it the way Washington never will: These cuts mean more people will get HIV who didn't have to, and more people will die who didn't have to," said Matt Toburen, the organization's executive director, in a statement released this week. "For the first time in 45 years, the end of this epidemic was within reach, and the federal government is choosing to drag us backward."

The Aliveness Project says the CDC funding paid for 6,297 HIV tests. Of those, 56 people tested positive, including 51 new diagnoses. More than 96% of people who tested positive were connected to HIV medical care within 30 days - a benchmark health officials say is key to stopping the virus from spreading further. The program also screened more than 6,100 people who tested negative and referred them for PrEP, a medication that can prevent HIV infection.

Much of that work happened outside doctors' offices and clinics. Staff met people through mobile outreach vans, homeless shelters, substance-use treatment programs, bars, encampments and community events, often reaching people who don't have easy access to regular health care.

The Aliveness Project argues that the trust it has built with vulnerable groups — those who are experiencing homelessness, the uninsured, those using drugs or who are wary of government health programs — can't be quickly rebuilt by a state agency.

"As responsibility for this funding shifts to the Minnesota Department of Health, we are hopeful that Minnesota will continue its long tradition of investing in community-based HIV prevention," the organization said. It added that it wants to help shape "a thoughtful, community-centered plan" that keeps local groups involved in the state's broader effort, known as Minnesota's Plan to End HIV.

The organization is asking Minnesotans to contact federal and state officials and is urging people to support an action alert calling for HIV prevention funding to be protected.

WCCO has reached out to MDH regarding the change and how they plan to distribute the funds.