Community Resource

African American Office of Gay Concerns (AAOGC)

(973) 639-0700
Newark

The African American Office of Gay Concerns (AAOGC) is a community based non-profit organization founded in 2001 by its founder and current Executive Director Gary Paul Wright, to ensure that men of color who were gay-identified, bi-sexual, or men who had sex with other men (MSM) had a voice in the fight against HIV/AIDS…

The AAOGC provides HIV/AIDS prevention services that have been designed to target and appeal to MSM, their friends, and their partners, promoting leadership, community service, and accountability in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The AAOGC has proudly served the greater Newark area for over a decade with health programs & services developed to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS by opening its doors daily for Free 15 min Rapid HIV testing, Free condoms, Free Sex Education, Free Support Groups, Free Peer Advocation, Free Sexual Health Related Resources & Information as well as a host of community outreach partnerships & collaborations…

The African American Office of Gay Concerns' mission is to comprehensively serve as a resource for the well-being of Gay men of color, inclusive of, but not limited to the gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning communities through outreach, education, and compassionate care. The African American Office of Gay Concerns is committed to delivering quality HIV/AIDS services to the Gay community in the Greater Newark Area by providing an array of services focused on positively changing individual increased risk behavior…

The B.R.O.T.H.E.R. Project
The B.R.O.T.H.E.R. (Brothers Reaching Out Through Health Education and Risk Reduction) Project is an innovative HIV Prevention & Education program designed for African-American/Latino men who have sex with men, whether gay-identified or not, who are at high risk for HIV infection. The B.R.O.T.H.E.R. Project has three components:

  • SEXsponsibility
    If you or someone you know is African American, gay and HIV-negative, or if you’ve never been tested before, then this is the group for you! SEXsponsibiltiy* is an intensive multi-session group workshop designed to address all types of topics that help you stay healthy, such as sex and relationships, homophobia, racism, and cultural/social/religious issues. (*Approved curriculum used is Many Men, Many Voices, or 3MV.)
  • HIV Rapid Testing
    As more young men of color engage in risky sexual behaviors, it’s even more important to know your status—whether or not you are HIV infected. The AAOGC now offers in-house HIV Rapid Testing. In as little as 20 minutes, you can get tested and find out your results in the privacy of our office. While no appointment is necessary, please check our availability, as we often offer off-hour testing.
  • Food For Thought Sunday Socials
    How about dinner and a movie? This group features a stimulating discussion around a topic identified from a particular film or video. It may be a four-hour event on a Sunday afternoon, but who knows? The after-effects may be timeless!

T.G.I.F. Peer Advocate Project
The T.G.I.F. (Thank Goodness I’m Fabulous) Peer Advocate Project is here to provide young African-American and Latino Transgender girls a safe space, especially the “ballroom” and “sex work” girls. The T.G.I.F. Peer Advocate Project introduces and supports behavior change through community support, HIV/STI prevention education, and safer sex information to reduce the transmission of HIV within these communities.

Status Is Everything Project
Status Is Everything has been the tagline used by AAOGC since its inception however it's not just a slogan—if you are sexually active, your serostatus (knowing if you are HIV positive or HIV negative) can be an effective tool in HIV/AIDS prevention. Recent statistics from the CDC have indicated that one of the groups most at risk for HIV transmission is African American men who have sex with men (AAMSM), with a marked increase for young men of color. This group is also keenly unaware that they may be infected with HIV already. Again, the only way to be sure is for this targeted population to get tested. The “Status Is Everything” Social Marketing Project is a multi-faceted campaign geared to increase the number of African American men who have sex with men that get tested for HIV and other STIs in the Greater Newark Area, especially young men of color. Visit www.StatusIsEverything.org for more info.

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Last Updated: 10/18/23