Golden Rule Services

History of Golden Rule Services

Golden Rule Services (GRS) was founded in January 2000 by Clarmundo Sullivan in response to a gap in local culturally competent services provided to People of Color communities in Sacramento County, and to resolve disproportionate health, education, employment and criminal justice disparities experienced within those communities. GRS's initial programmatic focus was criminal justice disparities. GRS successfully secured contracts with Sacramento Youth Peer Court, Sacramento County Probation, and Sacramento City Unified School District to provide life skills classes, anger management classes, mentoring and counseling services to high risk youth. In August 2000, the Board of Directors of GRS expanded the agency's programmatic focus to health disparities by piloting a MSM HIV education and prevention project. Since then GRS has evolved from a small HIV prevention pilot to one of the most respected, successful and award-winning HIV prevention service providers in Sacramento County. GRS now provides a variety of free HIV, STD, and Hepatitis C education and prevention services. Golden Rule Services is celebrating its 20-year anniversary of providing a variety of free award-winning, high impact HIV/AIDS education and prevention services in Sacramento County.

Our Mission:

The mission of Golden Rule Services is to resolve health, education, employment and criminal justice disparities within People of Color communities through the provision of culturally competent programs and resources.

Vision Statement:

Attainment of optimum health, educational and employment of all People of Color communities.

Strategic Intent:

As infrastructure is built in one community of color, we will expand into other communities of color where the needs are greatest, integrating programs as we expand. By 2020, we will be the premier minority based, multi-service nonprofit organization in Sacramento, California with a strong reputation of providing a variety of accessible, affordable and research programs to People of Color.

Agency Philosophy:

Services are most effective when they are culturally competent, age appropriate, research based and are accessible, affordable and comprehensive.

Agency Motto:

"Treat others that way you want to be treated, but even BETTER."

Agency Credibility and Capacity:

Golden Rule Services is recognized as a key informant and gatekeeper in Sacramento County’s People of Color communities. Golden Rule Services board members and staff have and continue to provide technical assistance to the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services’ HIV Education and Prevention Program. Staff has and continues to sit on Sacramento Alliance to Prevent AIDS (SAPA), the regional Ryan White HIV Services Planning Council, the California AIDS Clearinghouse Advisory Council and the Office of Minority Health Resource Center’s HIV Advisory Board.

Our Approach:

Our programs are developed with evidenced-based and "best practice" research. In compliance with national guidelines, we use epidemiology, program evaluation, behavioral science theories, and methodologies in the development of our programs. We are ensure that all of our programs are developed to address the social determinants of health of our clients. Lastly, also incorporate good old fashion tender loving care which our clients have come to love and appreciate.

In accordance to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National AIDS Strategy and High- Impact Prevention approach, the specific program's purpose is to reduce new HIV infections, increase access to care and improve health outcomes for people living with HIV, reduce HIV-related health disparities, and to implement cost-effective interventions in the geographic areas hardest hit by HIV and among the most severely infected and affected local target audiences.

In compliance with the CDC's current "High-Impact Prevention" approach, GRS is implementing programs and services among the most severely infected and affected target populations in Sacramento including People of Color, women, men who have sex with men, sex industry workers, transgenders, injection drug users and stimulant users and people living with HIV/AIDS.

GRS respectfully works to not replicate and duplicate serving the same target populations of other local HIV/AIDS service providers. GRS is known and respected for filling HIV/AIDS prevention gaps that other local HIV/AIDS service providers have not addressed. Our HIV/AIDS prevention services were created "by" and "for" the target populations we serve. All of our home grown HIV interventions were designed with feedback from local target audience focus groups and key informant interviews including the Men's Soul Food Project, the Son-Shine Project, the Kalifia Project, the BOOTSTRAP project, the Entre Hombres Project and Lambda Lounge.

Target Populations:

For over 20 years, GRS has successfully provided a variety of award-winning HIV and sexually transmitted disease (STD) education, prevention and risk reduction services to underserved, high-risk, and vulnerable community members residing in Sacramento County. GRS proudly services People of Color, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, women, sex industry workers, injection drug users, ex-offenders, youth, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Most of our clients are uninsured and under-insured. GRS’s constituency race/ethnicity profile is 32.8% African American/Black, 29.7% Latin American and 24.3% Caucasian, 9.7% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 2.8% American Indian. GRS’s constituency age profile is 9% clients ages 13-19, 50% clients ages 20-29, 22% clients ages 30-39, and 19% clients ages 40 and over. GRS’s gender profile is 70% male, 28% female and 2% transgender.