Achieving Together’s vision is that Texas will become a state where HIV is rare, and every person will have access to high-quality prevention and care services regardless of age, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and socio-economic circumstances. A cornerstone of achieving this goal for Texas is re-envisioning HIV and STD prevention and care systems from a status neutral perspective. Status neutral concepts were pioneered by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health) and have been embraced by communities across Texas.
In 2020, the Texas Department of State Health Services HIV/STD Program has engaged in the development of the concept of status neutral systems and how those concepts could be applied to our state. This document (PDF) lays out the program’s response to adapting the status neutral approach to HIV and STD work in Texas.
