In 2021, the San Francisco Department of Public Health hired Facente Consulting to work with community-based organizations representing five priority populations (Blacks/African Americans, Latines, trans women, people who inject drugs, and people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity) to develop five town hall events to disseminate information and gather community feedback about San Francisco’s plan to End the HIV, Hepatitis C, and STI epidemics. In partnership with local organizations already familiar with the priority communities, Facente Consulting facilitated two successful virtual townhall events in October, 2021 (Black/African American and Latine). These events were attended by more than 70 community members, and the participants of the Latine town hall had the option to listen and interact in Spanish, English or Portuguese. The events featured panelists from the community, community organization staff, activists, and department of public health personnel. (The project is currently on hold due to logistical issues at CBOs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.)
In addition to holding the town halls, Facente Consulting worked with the community organizations to develop community materials tailored specifically to their priority population and to disseminate information about San Francisco’s “Ending the Epidemics” plan. Facente Consulting supported the organizations to determine the plan content most necessary for community dissemination, design the media through which the information would be disseminated, and work with a graphic designer to layout and finalize the materials before they were printed and provided to the agencies for dissemination.