The document summarizes engagement strategies for working with house ball communities on HIV/STD issues. It discusses establishing trust and respect within communities before engagement. Successful strategies included developing cultural competency, transparency, long-term partnerships, and capacity building. Specific projects like Project VOGUE in New York and REACH LA engaged communities through balls, workshops, and testing events. The BHAP conference in Texas addressed health disparities among house/ball and pageant communities in the South. A consultation formed a national coalition to develop an HIV clinical trials research agenda focused on house ball communities. Barriers to engagement included distrust, lack of access, and stigma, while facilitators included reciprocity, whole community involvement, and empowerment.

1. ENGAGING HOUSE BALL COMMUNITIES
UTILIZING CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE
METHODS
Friday, May 15th, 2015
2015 MATEC-Indiana HIV/STD Update Conference
Stephaun E. Wallace, MS
Chairman/President, House of Blahnik, Inc.
Public Health Researcher/Project Manager, HANC Legacy Project
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

2. Overview
Process Question/Video
What is the House and Ball
Community?
Community Engagement 101
Engagement Successes
Recap of Successful
Strategies
Summary/Q&A

3. 1 + 1 = 2

5. What is the
House and Ballroom Community?
Harlem Drag Balls of
the 1920’s
Evolved in 1960’s
Demographics
Family/Community
Social Fabric
Houses/Ball Events
3-scenes
**Predates HIV/AIDS

6. Community Engagement 101
Define “Community”
The core concept of Community Engagement is simple. Trust,
respect, equity and loyalty must be established and defined within a
community before active engagement can begin.
Who benefits from effective community engagement..?
EVERYONE!
This stated approach includes principles that provide an effective
foundation for integrating community members into public health and
research processes.
HANC-Community Partners Recommendations for Community Engagement

7. Principles of Community Engagement
Set Clear Goals
Learn About the Community
Develop Cultural Competency
Foster Transparency
Build Partnerships and Trust
Provide and Promote Capacity
Building
Maintain a Long-Term
Commitment
HANC-Community Partners Recommendations for Community Engagement

8. Engagement Process Considerations
Cultural (e.g., house/regional politics)
Participation (e.g., transiency)
Access (e.g., transportation, site location,
“feel” of site, etc)
Capacity (e.g., language, concepts, skills, etc)

9. Community Engagement Successes
Intraventions
The Wiz
VOGUE Theory
Kiki Coalition/Scene
National House and
Ball Community
Change Coalition

10. Community Engagement Successes
(cont.)
Interventions
Many Men, Many Voices
(EBI)
D-Up (EBI)
Project VOGUE, Buffalo
& Rochester, NY
REACH LA, Los Angeles,
CA
BHAP Conference,
Dallas, TX
Statusboiz, Charlotte, NC
Project Silk, Pittsburgh, PA

11. PROJECT VOGUE

12. Background
A 2006 Rochester Area Task Force on AIDS report indicates approximately 24% of
new HIV diagnosis occurred in youth and young adults ages 13-24 and
approximately 20% were of ages 25-29. In this same report, in 2005
approximately 26% and 13% of new infections occurred in African Americans and
Hispanic/Latinos respectively.
A 2006 NYSDOH surveillance report states that Buffalo had over 3,000 cases of
HIV/AIDS with 120 new cases reported in 2006. This same report states that
Rochester had over 2,900 cases of HIV/AIDS with over 98 new cases also
reported in 2006.
The over-representation of people of color (especially Black and Hispanic)
infected with HIV/AIDS and their historic underrepresentation in vaccine clinical
trials for HIV is a growing issue of concern.
This is a major issue for researchers to address, not only do people of color suffer
from health disparities, they also experience and respond to treatment differently,
making research studies (especially vaccine trial studies) with representation from
this communities a priority.

13. Project VOGUE
The overarching goal of this pilot project is to increase the
participation of MSM of color (African-American and Latino) in HVTN
clinical trials.
The specific aims of this project are:
 Aim #1: To conduct a HIV/AIDS and HIV vaccine research
awareness needs assessment among members/affiliates of the
house ball community.
 Aim #2: To develop and implement a group level workshop
intervention to counter the threat of HIV/AIDS and raise awareness
about HIV vaccine research among those in the house ball
community.
 Aim #3: To assess the applicability of a potential model to
reach and increase the inclusion of highly at risk sub-populations of
MSM of color (Members of the House/Ball community) in HIV
vaccine trial research initiatives.

14. What is Project VOGUE?
VOGUE Intervention
6 session HIV prevention
intervention
Reduce stigma about clinical
research
Increase relationships between
house/ball & HVTU site
The combination of these two (2) separate, yet
interconnected components comprise Project VOGUE.
 WNY Council of Houses
Serves as governance body
Provides ongoing peer support
Provides feedback to HVTU and
research teams
Plans engagement programs/event

15. VOGUE Intervention Curriculum
Session 1
What does it mean to be a part of the house/ball community?
Session 2
Crafting an Agenda of Emotional Safety
Session 3
HIV/STI 101
Session 4
Understanding HIV Vaccine Research
Session 5
Presentations (Community Change Projects)
Session 6
Optional Clinical Site Field Trip & Graduation

17. Project VOGUE Results
 COH as expert informants
 COH members have been engaged; recognized need
for HIV prevention/vaccine research
 HIV knowledge increased in the group from 74.5% to
84%
 Sustained interaction with and presence within the
community led to open discussions around HIV vaccine
research
 Increased understanding of HIV vaccine research was
evidenced among house/ball community members
 The COH also developed governance structures that
frame, inform, and influence the behavioral social
norms of the local House Ball community

18. Project VOGUE Conclusions
CBPR research principles proved effective in working
with the COH and WNY house ball community
A new 6-session curriculum was developed that the
community is invested in
Engaging the COH from the beginning was pivotal in
getting buy-in and building trust among the target
population
Supporting the COH social networking activities fostered
further collaboration
Collaborative partnerships between researchers,
community-based organizations and at-risk MSM
populations should be established and strongly
encouraged

19. Research Team
 The team will be comprised of a very experienced interdisciplinary collaborative
research team from the University of Rochester (Medical Center and School of
Nursing) and the MOCHA Center, Inc.
Principal Investigator
Michael C. Keefer MD, Professor of Medicine, Director of CRS, University of Rochester
Medical Center
Co-Principal Investigator
Sheldon D. Fields PhD, RN, FNP-BC, AACRN, FNAP, FAANP, Associate Professor of
Nursing, University of Rochester – School of Nursing
Co-Principal Investigator
Damon L. Humes MHS, Executive Director, The MOCHA Center, Inc.
Project Director/Co-Investigator
Stephaun E. Wallace, MS, MOL, Director of Programs, Research and Evaluation, The
MOCHA Center, Inc.
Co-Investigator
Catherine A. Bunce RN, MS, CCRC, CRS Clinic Coordinator, University of Rochester
Medical Center

20. REACH LA

21. REACH LA- Community Engagement
20-Days of Testing &The Ovahness Ball
Legendary Sean Milan
Garcon & Greg Ultra
Omni producers
8th year – largest ball
on the West Coast
Annual Ovahness Ball
Flyer
Endorsed by the West
Coast Ballroom Alliance
HIV Testing as a House
Contest
Ballroom Youth
Leadership Awards

22. REACH LA- Community Engagement
Battle Night Wednesdays
Skills building
vogue & runway
workshop.
Emphasis is on
personal
improvement.
Free HIV testing =
access.
Taught by
community
members.

23. REACH LA- Community Engagement
BTG/Ballroom Community Outreach Team
National ballroom community
campaign to educated about
HIV prevention and
biomedical research.
Nationally known ballroom
leaders.
Using the runway as platform
to inform – New York,
Washington DC, Atlanta,
Philadelphia, Los Angeles &
Dallas.
Partnering with HPTN, HVTN
and MTN research efforts.
Using social media to share
information (Facebook)

24. BHAP

25. History/Overview of B/HAP
 History: Began as an idea of Kirk Myers who shared it with Michael
Roberson at the 2012 Black Gay Research Summit/NAESM MSM
Leadership Conference in New Orleans. The desire was to address
the multitude of health disparities impacting the intersection of both
the house/ball and pageant marginalized communities in the south.
Through funding by Gilead pharmaceuticals the very first B/HAP
conference became a reality October 4-7, 2012 during “Dallas
Southern Pride “Ballstar Weekend”.
 Goal: To reduce health disparities across the Southern Region of the
United States by promoting health equity and improving leadership
capacity among sexual minorities.
 Target Population: African American and Latino men who have sex
with men (AAMSM/LMSM) as well as Transgender individuals.
 Primary audience are these states: AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA,
MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, & WV.
 Secondary audience: researchers, reproductive and sexual health
educators, prevention specialists, medical professionals, local, state
and federal health officers, as well as health policy makers and
elected officials that serve the target population.

26. Purpose of B/HAP Conference
 1) to provide a space and venue for the target populations to
get more information about strategies (inclusive of testing,
behavioral modification, and research resources);
 2) to engage public health professionals/providers and the
target populations in honest dialogs about the effectiveness of
research strategies and create collaborative partnerships that
foster trust and cooperation between providers and the target
populations in the work to reduce HIV and STI acquisitions
among members of both the house/ball and pageant
communities, comprised mostly of African- American and
Latino MSM and Transgender individuals; and,
 3) provide support and resources to those persons currently
living with HIV/AIDS and reduce re-infection and/or
transmission to others.

27. B/HAP Conference Objectives
 (1) increase knowledge about HIV/AIDS and co-
morbidities among sexual Minorities;
 (2) highlight the importance of interventions and “intra-
ventions” implemented within the Ball/House and
Pageant Communities;
 (3) discuss the importance of target specific research
and funding opportunities for health disparities among
sexual minorities;
 (4) increase community mobilization capacity to
address health disparities among sexual minorities; and
 (5) enhance leadership skills and advocacy.

28. B/HAP Highlights
 Has Partnership with various Local and National House Mothers & Fathers,
Leaders, Community Stakeholders, Ballroom Alliances, CBOs, State and Local
Health Departments, GILEAD
 Involve B/HAP Leaders in planning, leading, organizing, and conducting
workshops, roundtables, presentations. In addition BHAP is in dialogue and
collaboration with other national house/ball mobilization efforts such as the
October 2011 National House/ball convening in Los Angeles during “Ballstar
Weekend LA”, organized by REACH, LA, in collaboration with UCLA and
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; the House/ball Community Change
Consultation in Washington D.C in April 2012, organized by The Legacy Project;
as well as Masterballstar Weekend in NYC, April 16-20th 2014, organized by
the art collective Arika based in Edinburgh, Scotland, the international sound art
collective Ultra-Red, The Vogue 'ology Collective (Michael Roberson, Robert
Sember, Pony Zion, Twiggy Pucci Garcon, Sean Coleman Ebony, Derrick Prada
Ebony, Anika Gibbons) , in collaboration with NYC Black Pride, Destination
Tomorrow, The New School University NYC, Union Theological Seminary,
Issue Project Room, and PS1 Moma.
 Host Ball and Pageant within B/HAP Conference
 Awards Ceremony to honor individuals whose legacy and body of work have
made positive changes in the strengthening of the communities.
 Has facilitated over 600 HIV test during its 3 year history with an overall
positivity rate of 10.5% .

29. NATIONAL HOUSE BALL
COMMUNITY CHANGE
COALITION

30. House/Ball Community Change Consultation
Overall Meeting Goal
To convene a national meeting of key influencers from the House
Ball community in order to formulate a national HIV clinical trials
research agenda specifically focused on the House Ball
community.
Discussion Themes:
Barriers and Facilitators for Engaging the HBC in HIV Clinical
Research
Emerging and Ongoing HIV Clinical Research Trends (in
particular the activities of the Adolescents Trial Network (ATN))
Short-, Medium- and Long-term Strategies for Engagement
Building a National House/Ball Coalition

31. House/Ball Community Change Consultation
April 27-29, 2012 in Washington, DC
31 participants of various social statuses and scenes from
the national House and Ball community, (including one
member from Toronto)
Participants filled out surveys that asked about
demographic characteristics of individuals and their
houses, and also knowledge attitudes and beliefs about
HIV clinical research
Participants were separated into focus groups to discuss
short-, medium- and long-term strategies for engaging the
HBC in HIV clinical research

32. Participant Demographics
9.7
35.5
6.5
29
12.9
6.5
Education High School
Diploma or GED
Some College
Associates Degree
4 Year College
Degree
Master's Degree
Doctorate/Medical/L
aw Degree

33. Awareness of HIV Clinical Modalities and Trials
Clin. Res Vaccine Vaccine Trial HIV Txt HIV Txt Trial PrEP PrEP Trial Microb. Microb. Trial
Ever Read or Heard about...
Percent(%)Agree
020406080100
65.5
89.7
72.4
79.3
58.6
75.9
55.2
46.4
28.6

34. Barriers for Engaging the HBC in HIV
Clinical Research
Lack of access to info about clinical research
Helicopter Effect: short time frame; researchers popping in and
out
Distrust: historical trauma; fear of medical community; negative
impressions of research
Access to health care: cultural, economic, social
Myths
Lack of reciprocity: Fearful of participating and not receiving
benefit from research (not financial/employment benefit, but
personal and community benefit)
Uncertainty: screening & exclusion, side effects
Lack of leadership participation
Miscategorization of gender
Stigma

35. Facilitators for Engaging the HBC in HIV
Clinical Research
Attend house/alliance/federation meetings & balls
Reciprocity: benefit is clear; results shared, practices
transparent; research team accountable
Whole community engagement: within the HBC--leaders, linkers,
gatekeepers
Access to culturally competent research staff: cultural
competency with HBC, sexual/racial/ethnic diverse staff
Longer time frames
CBO bridge
Community Empowerment: HBC members feel ownership over
the research process and outcome; capacity building
Simple language
Sex and gender positive practices

36. What’s Ahead

37. Recap of Successful Strategies
1.Shift in thinking-
2.Ask yourself, what is investment (individual, agency/org, duration,
etc)?
3.Partner with the National House Ball Community Change Coalition
(NASTAD Webinar); hire coalition members as consultants
4.Community Needs Assessment(s)
5.Sponsoring Categories at Ball Events (e.g., testing as a house)
6.Create wrap-around services that engage beyond HIV threats
7.Engage HBC members/leaders in planning of programs (not just end
users ); USCA 2013 Session
8.Hire HBC members to conduct programming in HBCs (provide
professional development support

38. Summary
Programs are better positioned for optimal success and
uptake when engagement occurs thoughtfully, sensitively,
respectfully, and when true partnerships can be
developed that engage community beyond the “end-user”
experience.
These successes have been uniquely and wholly
attributed to the time, dedication, resources, and support
that have created the foundation for these individuals,
organizations and groups to partner with the HBC over
the long-term.

39. Questions
Stephaun E. Wallace
Office: (206) 667-3108
Email: sewallac@fredhutch.org
“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle
because we do not live single-issue lives.”
― Audre Lorde
References: HANC- Community Partners Recommendations for Community Engagement
https://www.hanc.info/cp/resources/Documents/Recommendations%202014%20FINAL%206-5-
14%20rc.pdf