Cascade AIDS Project

Mission

At Cascade AIDS Project (CAP), we promote well-being and advance equity by providing inclusive health and wellness services for LGBTQ+ people, people affected by HIV, and all those seeking compassionate care.

Bottom Line for Portland

Having provided HIV services in Oregon for over forty years, CAP is a critical feature of the local HIV landscape. Each year, our agency provides vital health, housing, and other social support services to over 20,000 individuals in the Portland area; we play a crucial role in the nationally recognized HIV-services system and serve as a model for housing-focused HIV support. Notably, we are the sole non-governmental provider of no-cost HIV/STI testing services within the Portland region.

Since 2016, CAP has further evolved to offer expanded wrap-around health and wellness services to our community. In Southwest Washington, we successfully cultivated our core CAP services to two new locations in Vancouver and Longview, including the launch of a new behavioral health program in 2024. And in Portland, we leveraged our extensive LGBTQ+ health experience to address a wider range of health disparities our community faces through the launch of our primary care and behavioral health brand, Prism Health. Our flagship clinic in the Belmont neighborhood opened its doors in 2017 followed by a second location in the Eliot neighborhood in the summer of 2024.

In 2022, Our House of Portland, a cherished residential facility serving individuals living with HIV & AIDS since 1988, merged with CAP, further strengthening both organizations' ability to best serve our region. 

CAP boasts robust housing and support programs, along with life-changing programs and services like Aging Well, Camp Kids Connection, Esther's Pantry, Tod's Corner, and more.

Quote

“Any organization can connect a person to resources, but CAP connected to me, and that’s why I credit them with saving my life.”

- Recent client of our Southwest Washington services

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

As an organization rooted in and serving two populations that experience health disparities—people living with HIV and LGBTQ+ people—CAP’s work inherently seeks to advance equity. However, recognizing that systemic racism has produced additional, racial disparities within the communities we serve—e.g., Black people in Oregon are more than six times more likely than White people to become infected with HIV—we employ a race-first health equity analysis in our efforts. For example, we offer culturally specific services for Latine and Black people living with HIV, we prioritize anti-racist continuing education for all staff, and we work to ensure that marginalized communities are represented and hold positions of power across all levels of the organization. 

Incentives

We're grateful for the partnership and support of Ron Tonkin Nissan: When you test drive a vehicle and mention CAP, they will donate $20; when you purchase a vehicle and mention CAP, they will donate $100!

Sock It To Me, a Portland institution designing and making socks as weird as our city, will donate a pair of socks for THE FIRST 300 GIFTS made through the Give!Guide this year. Thank you, Sock It To Me, for keeping our clients' feet warm and stylish.

Partner(s)

Project Access NOW partners with community to create equitable access to whole person care and social services and to advocate for systemic change – visit them on Give!Guide here! 

Thanks to our business partner Ron Tonkin Nissan and Sock It To Me for their support.