Invite - please participate

[southpolplus]

NO/AIDS Task Force invites you to help with a new program for men who are at least 18 years of age and have sex with men called SouthPOL+ (www.southpolplus.com). Please participate if you are eligible and refer your friends who may be eligible to participate.

SouthPOL+ (www.southpolplus.com) is a training program that will teach you how to talk to your friends, both in person and online, about HIV. This program will focus on men who have sex with men and also specifically HIV+ men of color. This program helps men talk with their friends about HIV prevention in their normal, everyday conversations with their friends both online and offline. The messages aren't supposed to be preachy, just friendly, normal conversations. The training will take place online. It's pretty simple, actually, and will make a huge difference in the community.

The program will start later this year. Before that time, we are doing some legwork to better understand the men's community. This initial research will help us create a program that is specific to this community. So what we'd like to do on this SouthPOL+ (www.southpolplus.com)  site is invite you to share your opinions with us, either in group discussion or one-on-one conversation.

Why are Y'all Doing This?

With the dramatic increase in Internet users, and the popularity of online chats and/or personals websites, lots of men are now finding their sexual partners online. HIV and AIDS are still hitting the men's community pretty hard...and especially in the South. Many gay men now are turning to the Internet when they first come out for information as well as to make friends in the community rather than going to the bars. That's why it's really important to make sure that the online community has the right information about risk reduction and HIV to give each other support and keep everyone as safe as possible.

Your taking part is voluntary and will not affect any current or future services you receive from NO/AIDS Task Force. You may choose to stop or withdraw your participation in the project at any time.

Ways to Participate

1) Online Group Discussion: It's an anonymous and confidential online group discussion. The participant will receive $20 in appreciation to their contribution if they are eligible and participate. Online focus groups will be conducted in a chat room based environment at SouthPOL+ Website. (www.southpolplus.com).

2) One-on-One Interview: Interview will be conducted via telephone by a SouthPOL+ Team member. The conversations will involve discussion about your views, concerns and understanding of HIV positive men of color and men who have sex with men with regards to relationships, internet use, social services and hurricanes. All participants can either choose to call us at 1-866-783-4737/504-945-4000 or we can call them. The interviews will be scheduled at a convenient time for you and the interviewer. The participant will receive $20 in appreciation to their contribution if they are eligible and participate.

3) Online Survey: You can also help us by taking our survey. To access the survey, please click here SouthPOL+ (www.southpolplus.com). You can enter your email address for a chance to win 1 of 5 $100 cash prizes.

The participant will get paid through PayPal or an gift certificate through Amazon, or you can suggest whatever works best for you. We can also mail the incentive to the participant.


Eligibility Criteria:
Men who are at least 18 years of age and have sex with men.

Register at:
(www.southpolplus.com).

Contact us:
SouthPOL+
c/o NO/AIDS Task Force
507 Frenchmen St. New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 945-4000 | (866) 783-4737
info@southpolplus.com
www.southpolplus.com”