Don McVinney Recipient of CDC Funding

A proposal for the Harm Reduction Coalition gets CDC funding.

Congratulations to Don McVinney and The Harm Reduction Coalition! CUSSW's Adjunct Faculty Lecturer Don McVinney co-authored a proposal on the coalition that was submitted to the Center for Disease Control. Now the CDC has decided to fund it with a grant of $700,000 a year, renewable annually, for five years.

The Harm Reduction Coalition will provide training - known as "Capacity Building Assistance" - to community-based organizations funded by the CDC in the Northeast. The efforts will target African-American drug users and their families at risk for HIV/AIDS.

The Harm Reduction Coalition has special meaning for CUSSW. It has been a field placement at the School for several years.

McVinney is a graduate of CUSSW's master's program ('94) and a current doctoral student at the School. In 1999, McVinney was awarded the Columbia University President's Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student. The next stop for McVinney is Jerusalem. In May, he will travel to Hebrew University as part of "Partnership 2000: Jerusalem-New York."

Lisa Ferri
April 1, 2004