Alliance Welcomes Dr. David Berger to Board of Directors

Dr. David Berger, CEO of SUNY University Medical Hospital at Downstate was elected to join Alliance’s Board of Directors. With more than 25 years of healthcare leadership experience at several academic institutions, Dr. Berger leads the University Hospital at Downstate inpatient and outpatient services, accountable care organizations, community health centers, home care, and other related entities.

Dr. Berger’s expertise in healthcare will be invaluable to advancing Alliance’s work to provide services and resources that equip people to navigate systemic inequities and achieve health and well-being. His appointment was covered in NYN’s First Read and Philanthropy News Digest.

Photo from Downstate.edu

Community Promise Stories: Shirley

My name is Shirley. I’m originally from South Carolina but moved to New York City when I was young. I’m always kind and try to be a person others can come and talk to. I’m a Virgo so people tend to take my kindness as a weakness (but you shouldn’t).

 I’ve been coming to Alliance LES Harm Reduction Center since 2001 when they were on Avenue B, and then on Allen Street. Harm reduction is a huge part of my life because whenever I’m feeling good, bad, or sad, that community makes me feel valued. I value being trained and knowing how to help someone you see overdose. Coming here helps me decide not to use. And when I needed to use, I came here for sterile syringes. And sometimes just coming in here made me think I didn’t need to use right away, after all.

I started using crack, cocaine, and heroin almost 30 years ago, and my relationships with those drugs were problematic. But they’ve been very hard to stop, of course.

I’m very independent by nature, so it can be hard to find community that engages me. CHOICES, and specifically arts and crafts projects that we do here, is helping me find things to focus on. Crack/cocaine is more of a mental thing, keeping your mind active makes me crave it less. Coming here, I can now go longer without using crack/cocaine. That’s what helps me the most here: therapy plus arts and crafts. Getting lessons and refreshers on how to deal with life. We do 50% of the work here, and that supports me after I leave this space.

Positive Change Heroes: Jossiel

Photo: David Nager/Alliance

1.     Tell us a little about yourself, who you are, what you do, and what brought you to Alliance?

I was born in the Dominican Republic and came to USA when I was 14 years old. I’m a gay man with a Master’s degree in Social Work and have been at Alliance for almost a decade.

My mother wanted me to be a lawyer, so I went to college and graduated with three majors: French, Philosophy, and Psychology, thinking that would be a good combination to get me into Law School. My interest in social work initiated at 19 by attending support groups and then volunteering for a non-profit. After graduating college, I got a job as a Health Educator leading groups and providing educational sessions at another non-profit primarily helping Latino gay and bi-sexual men—I joined the Alliance family a couple of years after that.

2.    Tell me about your current program/service and what problem it solves.

I currently work in our Health Homes Care Management program, helping Medicaid recipients living with chronic medical conditions and experiencing social barriers in accessing care, such as homelessness, food insecurity, mental health challenges, income, etc... We see that people experiencing these barriers are more likely to get sicker. Our goal is to keep them from needing to be hospitalized with life-threatening situations by addressing these barriers. We help them get to medical appointments, receive guidance on securing needed benefits, and maintain a healthier life-style.

I supervise a team of case workers and mentor three Peers currently: Rinaldo, Steven, and Brittany. Some of the peers I supervised over the years started as clients and are currently part of the Alliance Staff. I help Peers use their lived experience to serve as an example for clients. They can reach clients in ways I cannot.

3.    How has social work changed since you’ve been in the field?

My career has changed as it is now more administrative and supervisory than directly with clients. My client case load used to be 60 clients, back in 2014—many with barriers like homelessness, no phone access—but now I supervise a team who meets with these people. I consider my team’s clients my clients, and I know a good amount of them by face and voice. Not all 300, but most.   

4.    What about the rise of telehealth?

Yes, telehealth. The pandemic really made it more mainstream, and there are pros and cons. Accessibility is a pro for people who are tech savvy. But you might miss certain non-verbal cues. Some clients at Alliance really struggled with telehealth because of income status, internet connectivity issues, or tech-savviness. Most of the people who want face to face interaction might not feel as comfortable with it, so we tried even early on in the pandemic to accommodate by meeting face to face in the community. However, I feel that telehealth is an additional method we can use maintain clients engaged.

5.    Is there an achievement or contribution you are particularly proud of?

I think we have to look at each case individually. Some goals are easier to achieve than others. Most clients can use one achievement to jump start another. Some have used securing stable housing to immediately enroll in our Peer Training program, or go back to school, or start a family.

In order to service our clients, we need to get creative. There’s no cookie cutter way. I had a client living with dementia who initially couldn’t remember our sessions. He always wanted to go back to Puerto Rico, where he was from, but had no family—and he couldn’t remember this, either. I found we could keep him engaged when I made our visits both social as well as clinical. I’d play cards with him. Sometimes I’d bring Peers with me so it felt like more of a full house. And in accompanying him to medical appointments, we were doing more than just talking.

6.    If you could do anything in addition to what you are doing now, what would it be?

In addition to working at Alliance full-time, I also work part-time as a psychotherapist with about 14 clients weekly. I am working toward getting my LCSW (clinical license). When I leave here, I usually work four more hours, primarily telehealth because it is easier for the clients I get assigned.

7.     So social work is a big part of your life. Do you have a philosophy for approaching the work?

All clients are unique. One thing that’s necessary to keep in all interactions is a smile. You never know what someone is going through and greeting them with a smile can be a good start.

8.    Tell me about Jossiel outside of work (here and psychotherapy work)

I enjoy drawing, dancing, exploring the city and socializing. I like to do things that are fun. As a kid, I took art and swimming classes. I like to swim and garden. I do not have a garden at the moment but have a lot of plants—orchids, succulents, others.

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Alliance mourns the passing of O’Shae Sibley

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Alliance is deeply saddened to learn that O’Shae Sibley, a gay professional dancer/choreographer who was beloved in New York City’s Kiki Ball scene, was fatally stabbed late Saturday night at a Brooklyn gas station. O’Shae was simply vogueing and enjoying the evening with friends. His murder is being investigated as a hate crime. 

With hate crimes rising in New York City and the United States, and many efforts to undercut LGBTQ+ rights and freedoms, Alliance stands in solidarity with the community. Everyone deserves to feel safe from stigma, threats, and violence. 

The Kiki Ballroom scene has long been a safe haven for creative expression and empowerment for LGBTQ+ people, especially for queer Black youth. O’Shae was a part of House of Old Navy, with whom we collaborate and frequently host Kiki Ball practices. We send our condolences to O’Shae’s family, friends, and fellow house members at this difficult time.  

Community Promise Stories: Troy

My name is Troy. I live in Williamsburg. People describe me as kind, loving, and quiet. I’m not loud or showy by nature. I’m comfortable by myself, and I like to go to museums, parks or walks alone with just one or two people.

I’ve been coming to Alliance LES Harm Reduction Center for services for 15 years, and most of that time, I’ve been completely sober, coming here for the support groups and community. These are really the only groups where I feel totally comfortable, and that’s because of how special the staff and Peers are. They understand people who are actively using drugs, and people like me, who haven’t used in a while but need ongoing support and engagement.

I’ve been on methadone for 20 years, and it has helped me stay off heroin, but I don’t appreciate having to report back to a counselor all the time like they were my parents. What I really want to do is ease off methadone with a support network that I have here. I don’t want to go back to heroin or keep increasing my methadone intake. I’m thinking about trying Suboxone offered here through Alliance’s CHOICES program.

I had a stroke just this year, just before my 60th birthday, so I’m not working now, but I was working in visual style. I’m a very artistic person, I love to dance, nothing professional, but club dancing. I’m getting back to being myself, and my speech is fully back, as you can hear.

I get a lot of support from my sisters and nieces, many of whom live in Switzerland, so maybe one day I’ll move out there. While I’m here, I’ll always come to Alliance for the community and support.

Alliance Holds Narcan Training and Joins IFC Center Q&A of 'Anonymous Sister'

Alliance was invited to attend a screening of Director Jamie Boyle’s personal documentary Anonymous Sister. As the film is centered around substance dependency, Alliance was invited to lead a brief Narcan training to the 60+ audience members, lead by our own Ashley Salgado Lynch on Sunday, June 4. After the training, Ashley took part in a Q&A about harm reduction, and our work.

Alliance holds free weekly virtual Narcan trainings, and serves participants safer use kits at our LES Harm Reduction Center located at 35 E. Broadway, 2nd floor, Monday-Saturday.

Alice Quinlan, part of the impact campaign team for Anonymous Sister, shared, “Directly serving New Yorkers with concrete harm reduction tools was incredibly meaningful and powerful. Thanks to the Alliance, not only were we able to provide Narcan and essential information to the film’s audience, we were able to distribute these resources to IFC Center’s community and neighbors during five screenings of the film.”

Spring Willow and Twist Graduation

In late May we held a joint graduation ceremony for the Spring graduates of both Women Involved in Life Learning from Other Women (WILLOW) and Transgender Women Involved in Strategies for Transformation (TWIST). These are two of Alliance's most popular quarterly interventions and it was great to celebrate the graduates with food and music.

Positive Change Heroes: Eddie and Joel

1.     Tell us a little about yourself, who you are, what you do, and what brought you to Alliance?

Eddie: I'm a 49-year-old Nuyorican from the Bronx. I served in the Marine Corps for several years. I'm a phlebotomist by trade, that's what I'm certified In.

My mother died in 1999 from complications from AIDS. She wasn't taking her medication. I wanted to work in this field to try to remove stigmas and make sure other people's mothers and loved ones got access to care.

I took a Peer training with N.Y.H.R.E in 2004 and worked in the field at pretty much every harm reduction provider in Harlem and the South Bronx. I started working at Alliance in 2020 as a case manager. I've provided HIV and hepatitis testing and linkage to care to thousands of people.

Joel: I’m a 32-year-old Puerto Rican from the Bronx, and I am the dad of a Siberian Husky named Henry. I was a client, got trained in Narcan use and overdose response, and decided to complete the CRPA (Certified Recovery Peer Advocate) training. I’ve been able to since get hired at Alliance to lead outreach efforts, counsel participants, and much more. I’m currently the Harm Reduction Manager at LESHRC.

 

2.    Tell me about your current program/service and what problem it solves.

Eddie: As the Harm Reduction Coordinator at Alliance LES Harm Reduction Center, my job is to help people at all stages with all sorts of services. I've helped people find housing, find treatment for hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS, and of course with plenty of syringe exchange services. Narcan and fentanyl test strips trainings are a big part of my job. "I want you to quote me on this: no one should die because they used a drug."

 

Joel: I work on our Choices program which connects people who use opioids to harm reduction, Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), and recovery services. We do individual group counseling, support groups, events, and find what services in-house or with government programs can best serve people.

 

3.    How has harm reduction changed since you've been working in the field?

Eddie: When I first started, we weren't even allowed to carry around Narcan, it was illegal. We faced all these arbitrary limits to what we could provide people who use drugs. Now, maybe because more of middle America is being affected by overdoses, people are waking up.

Joel: There has definitely been more access, and a lot more understanding of how important this work has been. Stats back up the importance of harm reduction, but they don’t tell the human experience, which I get to see firsthand how we help people. Harm reduction is all about meeting people where they are. After all, someone’s goals today might be different in a month, but just being consistently there for them feels really important.  

 

4.     What else should we—Alliance, and the greater harm reduction movement—be doing?

Eddie: There are some kiosks in the Bronx where groups I volunteer with where people can access sterile syringes and other harm reduction supplies. Before joining Alliance, I was working at BOOM!Health and was interviewed by Fox 5 News’ Lisa Evers. I trained her in how to use Narcan. I think more media trainings, like Joel recently did for The New York Times, and informational projects like Who’s Got Narcan? , a video two professional filmmakers helped us develop.

Joel: Having the conversation and making those services available is essential. Many people are afraid of losing access to services, so creating a safe space where they can talk about anything with their case managers, can help them with not just their harm reduction and substance use, but all around physical and behavioral well-being.

 

5.    Is there an achievement or contribution to this program you are particularly proud of?

Eddie: I think with my years of experience, I bring a level of calm and confidence to the syringe center. I think people can see my passion for the work, which Is good for staff and participants. We're not pushing our opinions on people. I make it my business that whenever we get a new volunteer, I give them a thorough training. People come to us high, and sometimes overdose in the office, so we have to be ready. We’ve saved a lot of lives at our office, and I’ve saved a lot of lives out of the office too. 

Joel: Kicking off, we had a staff shortage that we’ve fortunately filled since, but I heard from a lot of participants how they’ve felt safer knowing they could talk to me, and I’d help them with things like enrolling in Suboxone, getting proper safer use supplies, benefits navigation, and more.

 

6.    If you could do anything in addition to what you are doing now, what would it be?

 Eddie: I think I'd still be doing this! If I had a million dollars, maybe I'd have my own harm reduction center, with an overnight drop-In center, and an OPC, maybe even a 24/7 center so people could have a safe place to stay overnight. 

Joel: I would open a Husky rescue farm for dogs. And something that I’ve actually been discussing with Tom and Reilly here is a program where people can come foster their pets while they seek treatment. A lot of people using drugs may not have any family besides their dogs, and are hesitant to check into an in-patient treatment program because they don’t want to give up their family—their pet.

 

7.     Tell me about who you are and what you enjoy outside of work

Eddie: I'm a proud girl dad. I've got a 14-year-old daughter, and two grown children. I'm a big Yankees and Giants fan. I love movies. Typical middle aged New York dad.

Joel: I’m from the Bronx and love giving back to my community. I love taking Henry outside during this beautiful weather. And of course keeping strong bonds with my friends & family.  

Director of Administration Brooke Montes Named Notable Leader in Health Care

Crain’s New York Business has selected Alliance for Positive Change Director of Administration Brooke Montes as a 2023 Notable in Health Care, noting that this year’s honorees’ “work is vital to the functioning of the city’s health care system and the city itself.”

You can view the full list here (subscription required for access) - https://www.crainsnewyork.com/awards/notable-2023-leaders-health-care

In its recognition of Brooke Montes, Crain’s described Alliance’s commitment to supporting New Yorkers with chronic conditions, including issue advocacy and responsible budgeting.

“Montes drives the organization’s mission by supporting the efforts of the executive team and board with advocacy, business administration, communications, project management and program oversight. Montes meets with legislators and speaks out to ensure continued access to such services for under-resourced communities.”

Brooke Montes began as an intern at Alliance 15 years ago. She has translated her passion for social justice and health promotion into a decade-plus-long career, supporting New Yorkers on their chosen pathway to positive change.