Ebony Ross, Director of Development & Planning at The Alliance for Positive Change, and Jeff Simmons, Executive Vice President, Anat Gerstein, Inc., appeared on QPTV in December to discuss the Alliance's programs and services, and a campaign to raise money to provide home improvement kits to New Yorkers who are making a positive change in their lives.
Positive Change on Telemundo
Telemundo 47 spoke to Velia Hernandez, Associate Director- HIV/HCV Testing, Linkage to Care and Navigation Services, along with two of our recent Peer Training graduates about all the Alliance has to offer.
Today Show Highlights Positive Change
In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the Today Show features Leslie, an Alliance Peer and Community Health Worker, as part of its ‘Walk in My Shoes’ series. Leslie shares how the Alliance community has supported her as an HIV-positive woman, and how she has leveraged her own experiences to help others to live better, feel better, and do better. Read the full story here.
With your support, we can continue to inspire positive change for New Yorkers like Leslie.
Creating #PositiveHomes for the Holidays
Teresa, an Alliance participant, receives a #PositiveHomes kit with dishes, pots and pans. (Credit: David Handschuh)
At The Alliance for Positive Change, we make sure people facing HIV/AIDS, chronic health conditions, and substance use disorder can take positive steps so they can feel better, live better, and do better.
Many of the people who come to the Alliance for help are struggling with homelessness, and are seeking a fresh start. We help these New Yorkers to improve their health and their homes. We equip them with some of the tools they need to get back on their feet, and that starts with starting a home.
Our #PositiveHomes starter kits can include:
- Bed linen and towels (including pillows, blankets)
- Toiletries (including soap, toothbrushes, shampoo)
- Kitchen supplies (including dishes, utensils, plates, pots, mugs)
- Cleaning supplies (including hand soap, bins, dustpans, laundry tablets)
- Clothing (including scarves and gloves for the winter season).
- Food items (inciuding instant coffee, canned goods, long-lasting foods)
A generous board member has promised to match the first $2,500 donated. Your support is crucial to transform lives and make positive change.
In Response to President Trump's Opioid Announcement
Sharen I. Duke, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Alliance for Positive Change, issued the following statement today in response to President Trump’s declaration of the opioid crisis as a national public health emergency:
“We welcome today’s announcement by the President declaring the opioid crisis a national public health emergency. The growing opioid epidemic is devastating individuals and families across our country, and requires urgent and sweeping attention. However, the President’s action needs to go further—and must include the allocation of NEW resources to fight the opioid epidemic—that means more funding for overdose prevention education, syringe exchange, and distribution of Narcan (overdose reversal drug).
“Existing federal programs, like the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, currently offer services for people facing substance use and mental health challenges. Diverting existing budgetary allotments that are designated to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS and other illnesses will harm the public health, rather than respond with needed resources to combat the escalating opioid epidemic.
“Currently, 175 Americans reportedly die each day from opioid use, and New York City has been at the epicenter of this epidemic, with 1,374 confirmed overdose deaths in 2016 – an alarming 46% increase over the previous year. We cannot – and do not – view this in a silo, as substance use is closely tied to greater rates of HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses.
“At The Alliance for Positive Change, we promote a “harm reduction” philosophy of care that meets people where they are, providing support and tools to address social barriers to health—poverty, mental illness, substance use, homelessness, unemployment—that continue unabated for so many communities. It is through harm reduction and expanded syringe access programs that we have successfully reduced new HIV infections among active substance users.
“While our President has branded the epidemic “a public health emergency,” in order for our country to become, as Mr. Trump said, “the generation that ends this crisis,” we need the President and Secretary of Health to earmark additional funding.”
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Positive Change in The Wall Street Journal
PHOTO: HOLLY PICKETT FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
We have some amazing news to share. Recently, The Wall Street Journal published an article describing how The Alliance for Positive Change has transformed our programs and services to reach more New Yorkers.
You can read the full story here.
Over the last 27 years, the Alliance has been meeting the healthcare needs of New Yorkers in need so they can feel better, live better, and do better.
Today’s article is a testament to the hard work and commitment of so many people – our staff, Board, Peers, and partners like you – who have taken the first steps to bring Positive Change to their lives.
There is still much more work ahead. HIV/AIDS is still with us, and we are working hard to End the Epidemic. The opioid epidemic is still impacting many homes and communities, and we are seeing greater numbers of people walk through our doors seeking help.
DECLARACIÓN DEL 15 DE OCTUBRE, DÍA NACIONAL LATINO PARA LA CONCIENTIZACIÓN DEL SIDA
Sharen I. Duke, Directora Ejecutiva Fundadora y Presidenta de The Alliance for Positive Change, hizo pública la siguiente declaración con respecto al Día Nacional Latino para la Concientización del SIDA el 15 de octubre:
“En este día de concientización nacional, reiteramos nuestro compromiso con la prevención, realización de pruebas, tratamientos y cuidados de los Latinos y Latinas neoyorkinos. Las comunidades latinas de nuestra ciudad se ven afectadas de manera desproporcionada por el VIH/SIDA, debido a una variedad de factores convergentes, como la barrera idiomática, la homofobia y la transfobia y la falta de seguro médico”.
“En The Alliance, donde más de un tercio de nuestros participantes son Latinos y Latinas, luchamos para destruir estos obstáculos y lograr que las personas estén mejor, se sientan mejor, vivan mejor”.
“Es importante para nosotros acabar con la epidemia del VIH/SIDA en todas nuestras comunidades. Sin embargo, en el seno de la comunidad latina existe una gran urgencia en revertir una tendencia inquietante: un aumento en los diagnósticos de VIH en la población latina de Nueva York, de un 32% en 2014 a un 36% en 2015 –una taza más alta que la de todos los neoyorquinos”.
“Sin embargo, tenemos noticias prometedoras. Un nuevo reporte del Departamento de Salud e Higiene Mental de la ciudad de Nueva York publicó que los adolescentes y adultos latinos están más dispuestos a hacerse la prueba de VIH que los no-latinos, y que 75% de los nuevos diagnósticos recibieron tratamiento a tiempo, aún si 22% de los adultos latinos no tienen seguro médico”.
“En este día de concientización, alienta a tus amigos, a tu familia y a tus colegas a que den el primer paso, que visiten una de nuestras instalaciones y se hagan la prueba del VIH. Juntos podemos acabar con este epidemia”.
STATEMENT ON NATIONAL LATINX AIDS AWARENESS DAY ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15
Sharen I. Duke, Founding Executive Director and CEO of The Alliance for Positive Change, released the following statement in recognition of National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day on Sunday, October 15:
“On this national day of awareness, we reinforce our commitment to prevention, testing, treatment, and care for Latinx New Yorkers. Our city’s Latinx communities are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS due to a variety of converging factors, such as language barriers, homophobia and transphobia, and lack of health insurance.
"At the Alliance, where more than 1/3 of our program participants are Latinx, we strive to dismantle these obstacles so people can feel better, live better, and do better.
"It’s important to us to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic among all communities, and there is great urgency among the Latinx community to obtain tailored treatment and care. New HIV diagnoses are on the rise in New York City among Latinx, up from 32 percent in 2014 to 36 percent in 2015 – higher than the rate among all New Yorkers.
"Nevertheless, there is some promising news. A new report by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene noted that Latinx teens and adults are more likely than non-Latinx to get tested for HIV, and 75 percent of the newly-diagnosed receive timely care, even though 22 percent of Latinx adults are uninsured.
"On this awareness day, encourage your friends, family members and coworkers to take a first step – to visit one of our sites and get tested. Together, we can end this epidemic.”
In Response to Recent Natural Disasters
The natural disasters that have recently devastated regions of our country, the Caribbean and Mexico have impacted so many lives, including members of our community in New York City.
At the Alliance, our hearts ache for those who have lost their possessions, homes, livelihoods, and family members. Our Alliance community knows how it feels to face challenges, big and small, and we encourage anyone who has struggled to live better and do better to help out where you can.
There is an incredible need for support in the recovery process in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
We are with you during these calamitous times, and we share in your pain.
If you are looking for ways to help, we recommend several organizations that are on the frontlines of recovery:
To support LGBTQ and HIV-positive Puerto Ricans, consider contributing to Puerto Rico Para Tod@s: www.prparatodos.org/activate
Friends of Caritas Cubana provides services for those living with HIV/AIDS and emergency relief for victims of hurricanes and other natural disasters: www.friendsofcaritascubana.org
The Montrose Center has set up a fund to help LGBTQ community members displaced by Hurricane Harvey: www.montrosecenter.org/hub/lgbtq-hurricane-harvey-disaster-relief-fund
Finally, 100% of the donations to Global Giving’s Mexico Earthquake Relief Fund will go towards immediate relief to survivors, as well as longer-term assistance to help residents recover and rebuild: www.globalgiving.org/projects/mexico-earthquake-relief-fund
Statement on Overdose Awareness Day
The following is a statement from Sharen I. Duke, Executive Director and CEO of The Alliance for Positive Change, in regards to International Overdose Awareness Day:
"The New York Times reports that U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2016 most likely exceeded 59,000. More than enough to fill Yankee Stadium.
That staggering finding be a wakeup call that our country – and our city and state – are facing an unparalleled epidemic as Americans consume more opioids than any other country in the world.
In fact, New York City has become an epicenter of the epidemic. New data exposes how widespread use is becoming: there were 1,374 confirmed overdose deaths in New York City in 2016 – a shocking 46% increase over 2015.
Thursday, August 31 marks International Overdose Awareness Day, an opportunity to raise awareness about opioid abuse and reduce the stigma of drug-related death. We are stepping up so New Yorkers can rise up.
The Alliance for Positive Change is on the frontlines of the epidemic: we are preventing overdoses by offering free Naloxone trainings at our Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center (LESHRC). Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a medication that reverses overdoses from opioids, including heroin and prescription painkillers. By training more New Yorkers to administer this life-saving drug to family members, friends, and colleagues, we can help stave off deadly overdoses.
These trainings are offered year-round and are just one aspect of our clinical intervention and recovery services – including one-on-one counseling and coaching, education, syringe exchange services, housing resources, and HIV/HCV testing – to help New Yorkers lead healthier lives. To be trained on Naloxone, please visit alliance.nyc/leshrc, call LESHRC at 212-226-6333, or visit 25 Allen Street.
We are just as committed, as we have been since our founding 27 years ago, to supporting those who are struggling with severe health conditions including addiction. At our LESHRC, we provide a judgment-free space for services that mitigate the harmful effects of substance use disorders and reduce overdose deaths.
Drug overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50; it’s clear that we need humane solutions to reduce the harm caused by addiction. Only then will we see positive change – and that is what we what are committed to."
NYN Media Podcast: Engaging Peer Support
Founding Executive Director and CEO Sharen Duke talks with New York Nonprofit Media's Dan Rosenblum about how health care advances have changed the Alliance and how our peer education model helps our clients.