In July of 2002, AIDS Foundation Houston and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice conducted two 1½-day conferences for 161 offenders from 21 institutions across the state.

All of these offenders had been previously trained as peer health educators through a collaborative project of AFH, TDCJ, and UTMB. Peer educators were transported to one of the two host facilities (one female and one male facility), where they participated in workshops and presentations covering HIV, STD's, and other infectious diseases particularly relevant to prisoners.

Peer educators also participated in a community health fair, with representatives from community based service organizations and pharmaceutical companies. Pre-test/post-test surveys administered to participants showed significant improvement on 22 of 28 items in 6 knowledge domains. Post-conference surveys administered to TDCJ staff and representatives from CBO's and pharmaceutical companies indicated that the event was well received.

The event demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of such a collaboration among governmental agencies, community organizations, and private entities.