Strongest Link

Strongest Link is a non-profit organization providing an array of support services to improve the health and quality of life for Essex County residents living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Press Release

BOSTON, July 1, 2011 — AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts and Strongest Link AIDS Services, Inc. today announce that the two agencies will merge effective July 1, 2011.

The merger resulted from a strategic planning process initiated by Strongest Link two years ago in order to evaluate the agency’s effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability.

“The nature and quality of our services will continue as they always have: case management services in Essex County will remain intact, the Cornerstone Wellness Center in Lynn will continue, and staff will remain on board. Strongest Link will function, in essence, as a program of AIDS Action,” said Elizabeth E. Johnson, Director of Program Operations for AIDS Action and formerly the executive director of Strongest Link. “Our commitment to providing compassionate support services to individuals infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Essex County has not wavered. This merger will permit us to continue the important work we started in 1988 with the founding of Strongest Link to empower people with HIV and AIDS in Essex County to live better lives.”

AIDS Action provides services to one in six people in Massachusetts who are living with a diagnosis of HIV—including a number of current clients of Strongest Link, which currently provides peer support, case management and wellness services to people living with HIV/AIDS in Essex County.

“This is about consolidating resources so we can maintain services for people with HIV and AIDS. Strongest Link provides critical services to people living with AIDS in Essex County and the new, combined agency will keep that commitment,” said Rebecca Haag, President & CEO of AIDS Action Committee. “The merger will ensure the availability of services for people living with HIV in Essex County for as long as they are needed.”

Last July, AIDS Action Committee merged with Cambridge Cares About AIDS. The new, combined agency now has approximately 140 employees. These mergers have eliminated redundancies, reduced administrative expenses, and freed up resources for services for people living with HIV/AIDS.

About AIDS Action Committee

Founded in 1983, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Inc. (AAC), is New England’s first and largest AIDS service organization. AAC’s mission is to stop the epidemic and related health inequities by eliminating new infections, maximizing healthier outcomes of those infected and at risk, and attacking the root causes of HIV/AIDS.

AAC accomplishes this mission by providing services for men, women, and children living with AIDS and HIV; educating the public and health professionals about how to prevent HIV transmission in accordance with harm reduction principles; and advocating for fair and effective AIDS policy at the city, state, and federal levels. AAC also provides targeted outreach to those most vulnerable to HIV infection. In 2010, AAC merged with Cambridge Cares About AIDS to more efficiently deliver AIDS services in the Greater Boston area and expand its capacity for social justice work aimed at reducing the disparities among those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. AAC runs the only statewide AIDS/STD Hotline (1-800-235-2331) and Hepatitis Hotline (1-888-443-4372). All Hotlines offer multilingual support. Free and confidential rapid HIV testing and counseling, and clean needle exchange is also available. Learn more at www.aac.org.