| | Welcome to the February edition of the Capacity Connection, your e-newsletter from the Effi Barry Training Institute (EBTI), offering curated training opportunities, timely tools, and key updates to support HIV prevention in Washington, DC. We’re excited to recognize and celebrate both Black History Month and American Heart Month with engaging virtual trainings focused on elevating awareness within communities and improving overall health outcomes. Whether you work directly in the field or help strengthen systems behind the scenes, we’re here to support your capacity and impact. | | In This Issue: - February Awareness Observances
- Spotlight on Upcoming Training
- Self-Paced Trainings and Resources
- National LGBTQ Health Awareness Week
- No-Cost Technical Assistance
| |  | February Awareness Observances | | Black History Month, celebrating its 100th anniversary this February, is a month-long celebration to honor the leadership, resilience, and contributions of Black Americans. It is also a time to recognize ongoing efforts to advance health equity. February offers an important opportunity to reflect on how history, systems, and lived experience shape health outcomes today, and how informed, community-centered approaches can drive meaningful change. In this spirit, we invite you to view the below webinar and fact sheet from EBTI focused on advancing health and well-being among Black Americans. | | - Fact Sheet: Key Strategies and Community-Driven Approaches to Addressing Incarceration, HIV, and Black Women in DC
This fact sheet highlights the systemic challenges Black women face, shares a personal narrative to illustrate their experiences, and presents actionable community-driven approaches to improve health and reentry outcomes. It offers policymakers, healthcare providers, advocates, and community organizations strategies to address the overlapping crises of incarceration, HIV, and racial disparities affecting Black women in Washington, DC. | | | | | | | | February is also American Heart Month, a national observance to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. Since 1964, American Heart Month has been a national call to take charge of your heart health. We encourage you to learn about your heart health and risk factors like high blood pressure and cholesterol, to adopt a heart-healthy lifestyle, and participate in key events this month, including National Wear Red Day to support women's heart health. In honor of American Heart Month, check out this on-demand webinar from EBTI. - The Heart of the Matter: Cardiovascular Health in People Living with HIV
Designed to provide a comprehensive overview of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among people living with HIV, this webinar provides information about current risk prediction tools that may be used to discuss cardiovascular disease risk with people living with HIV and results of the REPRIEVE trial and its influence on current clinical care guidelines for people with HIV. | |  | | | Spotlight on Upcoming Training | | Drugs in Our Community: How They Are Taken and the Effects They Have
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 12:00pm Eastern This 90-minute webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of the common drugs used within our communities. Participants will familiarize themselves with the range of substances used, as well as the variety of methods people use to take them. Faculty will review the risks associated with different methods of intake and related behaviors, along with health concerns, including HIV and hepatitis. Participants will gain the skills to conduct a comprehensive, respectful assessment to work effectively with clients who use drugs and engage in meaningful and impactful dialogue. Please note that continuing education credits are not available for this webinar. | | | |  | Self-Paced Trainings and Resources | | - Beyond the Basics: Introducing the Eight Ps Framework for Inclusive and Effective Sexual History Taking
Traditional sexual history models don’t reflect today’s realities of mobility, digital connection, and borderless sexual networks. This webinar introduces the Eight Ps Framework, a person-centered, equity-focused approach that enhances communication and equips clinicians and public health professionals to build trust and improve care outcomes with diverse populations.
- Client-Centered PrEP Conversations: Using a Sexual History Framework to Guide Shared Decision-Making
Effective PrEP conversations go beyond medication options — they center trust, shared decision-making, and clients’ sexual health goals. This webinar introduces a structured sexual history framework to help providers, navigators, and CHWs partner with clients to determine whether PrEP is right for them and which option best fits their lifestyle, preferences, and needs. Participants will also learn strategies for creating stigma-free conversations that support meaningful discussions around adherence, access, privacy, and side effects. | | | |  | National LGBTQ Health Awareness Week
March 16 - 20, 2026 | | National LGBTQ Health Awareness Week, being held March 16 - 20, 2026, is an opportunity to engage with organizations conducting crucial health equity work, to inform the public about the importance of LGBTQ health, and to unite providers, LGBTQ communities, and allies for the advancement of real solutions that remove barriers and improve health for us all. This year's theme is "Organize to OUTlast." This theme calls on the LGBTQ community and those who provide healthcare for LGBTQ communities to organize for LGBTQ health against regressive forces in policy and culture. Organize to OUTlast assures us that together, the LGBTQ community and LGBTQ health services will survive, thrive, and persevere through these challenging times and beyond. | | | |  |
NO-COST Technical Assistance | | The Effi Barry Training Institute is dedicated to empowering current and prospective HAHSTA grantees and community-based organizations with the knowledge and tools to thrive. We offer targeted training and technical assistance across a variety of key areas. We provide technical assistance for: - Navigating the Fee-for-Service business process
- Mastering foundational HIV service competencies
- Advancing expertise in healthcare systems, data, and health informatics
- Implementing high-impact prevention strategies (including biomedical models)
- Integrating emerging evidence-based practices
Our approach blends group-level training, hands-on boot camps, dynamic community forums, and tailored one-on-one consultations. At HealthHIV, we believe in the power of holistic, patient-centered care. Our capacity-building efforts are designed to help organizations enhance patient outcomes, drive efficiencies, and maintain long-term sustainability. Through our innovative approach, we build robust, sustainable systems and services that address every stage of the HIV care continuum. Submit a Technical Assistance Request form to connect with EBTI today or scan this QR code: | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | The Effi Barry Training Institute, led by HealthHIV, provides training and technical assistance to support current and prospective HAHSTA grantees and community-based organizations in implementing fee-for-service business models; basic HIV service competencies; advanced skills in health care systems; data and health informatics; high-impact prevention programs; and emerging evidence-based or informed approaches through a series of group trainings, boot camps, community forums, and individual consultation. | | | | This project is funded wholly, or in part, by the Government of the District of Columbia, Department of Health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration (HAHSTA). | | | | | | | | | | For the latest program updates, follow us on: | | | | | | | | |
