Hermanos/as De Luna Y Sol (for gay/bisexual men & Transgender Women)

Latino gay/bisexual men in the U.S. have been highly and disproportionately affected by the AIDS epidemic. The program "Hermanos de Luna y Sol" (HLS) was designed as a culturally-appropriate HIV risk-reduction intervention that targets immigrant, Spanish-speaking gay/bisexual men.

The aims of the program are the following:

1) Provide experiences of social support, social belonging, and enhanced self-esteem in the context of a Latino gay identity and community

2) Promote critical awareness of social and cultural forces that impact and shape participant's social and sexual lives

3) Increase participant's sexual self-knowledge, with particular emphasis on sexual contexts and situations of personal vulnerability that limit participants' ability to practice safer sex

4) Facilitate community involvement and activism to support a sense of increased personal agency and self-efficacy (instead of fatalism and victimization) in response to oppressive social forces in participants' lives

For additional information please contact Alex Goncalvez, Director of Prevention Programs at (323) 660-9680 or at agoncalvez@bienestar.org