Kim Brown, executive director of CAS: serving the community she’s from

“CAS’ programs and services are founded on the principles of empowerment and equality. This year as we honor Black History Month, CAS remains committed to helping people meet their individual health goals by providing truly accessible services, resources and education,” says Kim Brown, executive director of Community Access Services (CAS).

CAS, an affiliate of Evergreen Health, empowers communities of color in Buffalo by addressing healthcare disparities and social determinants of health.

Kim, who was born and raised in Buffalo, has dedicated her career to serving the community she is a part of. Black communities and communities of color in the East side of Buffalo have historically been underserved by accessible, quality, culturally informed healthcare, and CAS has been there to help bridge the gap since 2003.

As the executive director of CAS since 2018, Kim is proud to be a servant leader who both represents and serves her community. Kim says, “to stay here and do the work in the same community which I came from is critical because I bring that lens of understanding to the work that we do.” 100% of Kim’s current team at CAS also identifies as members of the communities they serve.

Kim and her team provide services to communities of color who are disproportionately affected by HIV, like free walk-in rapid HIV testing, HIV education outreach with community members (including those who are incarcerated) and free safer sex supplies. They also support their clients’ sexual health with free linkage to STI testing through Evergreen Health and culturally informed gynecological care.

Beyond HIV services and sexual health care, CAS addresses other healthcare disparities and social determinants of health that disproportionately affect communities of color in Buffalo. In 2023, the food pantry at CAS served over 2,500 individuals to meet their nutrition needs, which is a key factor in health outcomes. CAS’ Nutrition Outreach and Education Coordinator also connects individuals and families throughout Erie County with SNAP benefits to help them get the nutrition they need.

A big part of the work Kim and her team do at CAS is community outreach and events. In addition to visiting churches, senior centers, universities, prisons and more to educate community members about HIV and sexual health, CAS holds annual events like Testing for Turkeys to provide community members with free rapid HIV tests and turkeys around Thanksgiving, and a Juneteenth party to celebrate the Black community with health resources and entertainment.

This February, during Black History Month, CAS is celebrating an annual event with special significance – Community Access Services Day. Each February 7 in the city of Buffalo is CAS Day, designated by Mayor Byron Brown to celebrate the work CAS does to empower communities of color in Buffalo.

CAS Day also takes place on Black HIV and AIDS Awareness Day, a day that has been commemorated in the United States since 1999 to acknowledge how HIV disproportionally affects Black communities.

This year’s CAS Day Celebration will take place at CAS at 3297 Bailey Avenue on February 7, from 10am-3pm. There will be raffles from local vendors like Massage Therapeutic Arts, Mister Sizzles, and Dipped & Designed, tours of CAS, free rapid HIV testing and safer sex supplies, and more. Join us to celebrate CAS and our community.

Since 2003, CAS has grown and changed to meet the evolving needs of the communities they serve and continuously build health equity in Buffalo. Today, Kim is spearheading a new project that will give CAS the chance to bring accessible, quality healthcare to many more people in our community: CAS and Evergreen Health are partnering to bring a new healthcare facility to the corners of Kensington and Bailey Avenues, called the CAS Ken-Bailey Project. The CAS Ken-Bailey Project will house medical and supportive services all under one roof.

The work Kim does at CAS, from talking to clients about their needs and filling food pantry bags to leading the development of a new healthcare facility, has touched the lives of countless people in Buffalo. Outside of work, Kim is actively involved in volunteerism and serving on several boards. She’s an Oishei Foundation Leader of Color Fellow, and a member of the Community Leadership Board for the Buffalo branches of the YMCA, and in 2021 received the Volunteer of the Year Award for her service to the William Emslie Branch.

In 2019, Kim was chosen as a BN360 Spotlight Professional for her commitment to serving the Buffalo Niagara region. In 2021, she was honored with the Buffalo Business First Women of Influence Award as well as the Buffalo Black Achiever Award for her contributions to her community. This January, Kim was honored with the Buffalo Business First IDEA Award for being a champion of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Awareness in Buffalo.

Kim is the wife of Lavar Brown, mother to two children, Jada and Josiah, grandmother to one granddaughter Kinslee, and a member of Agape AME Church Buffalo.

Learn more about Community Access Services | Learn more about the CAS Ken-Bailey Project