Spotlight

Alliance Community Heroes: Vanessa

Photos: David Nager/Alliance

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

Vanessa: I’ve worked at Alliance for Positive Change since 2000. Back then there were fewer than 15 of us. And wouldn’t you know it, almost all of them are still working here today: Sharen, Ramona, Fulvia, Deborah, Lillian, Yvonne, Maria, Michelle, and John, at least. I came from Exponent, another program like our PREP training. I came here as a Peer educator specializing in recovery.

I’ve done so many jobs at Alliance. I’ve been a case manager, Peer trainer, so many different jobs!

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

Vanessa: I’m a harm reduction manager. In harm reduction, at Alliance Midtown Central, we work with HIV positive people who are actively using substances, having sex with multiple partners, or are on medication. I work to help them get the resources they need. The beauty of Alliance is once people come through our doors, they see other services that can help. Sometimes that means helping them get certifications to advance their careers.

3.    Tell me about a specific person in the harm reduction program.

Vanessa: The first person I’m thinking of was a man who didn’t have stable housing. He had discolored nails, which can be a symptom of really serious illness, so we got that addressed with medicine, to flush his system out, and we would text him to remind him to take the meds. We got him clean clothes, his resume up to date, and helped him get a job at Macy’s.

Within six months, we got his viral load improved, too.

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

Vanessa: Our purview tends to be drugs, including alcohol, but I’m a cigarette smoker, and I know it’s a terrible thing for your body, and addictive. One person I worked with was a chronic cigarette smoker and developed advanced throat cancer. We were trying to address her body image issues and were able to help her reduce smoking, too.

5.    How has your program changed during the pandemic?

Vanessa: It’s been difficult with virtual treatment because a lot of people don’t have access or don’t know how or don’t want to do it. But we continued our virtual group therapy. I completed a Seeking Safety for Women training over Zoom, and some of those women really enjoyed that. But generally, trauma is better addressed in person.

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

Vanessa: I’d probably still be doing a lot of these same things, teaching harm reduction. After you’ve been doing this so long, it becomes a part of you. I’d also open up a foster care for children. I love children.

7.    Is there another question that I have not asked you that I should?

Vanessa: I’ve been known to meet people on a corner and bring them up into Alliance. In fact, one person I met and brought into Alliance now works here and has been stably housed for a long time.

Alliance Community Heroes: Eugene and Taryn

Photo: David Nager/Alliance

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

Eugene: I grew up in Long Island.  I’m the manager of the Criminal Justice (CJI) initiative and I've worked at Alliance for seven years.

Taryn: I was born and raised in the Lower East Side. I started on CJI and have been working on that and other criminal initiatives at Alliance off and on for the past 5 years.

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

Eugene: At CJI, we help HIV positive people get connected to care as they're released from prison back into one of a few boroughs in the city. We help them find housing, get connected to care, and other reorientation skills like using a smartphone. You might not realize it, but for people who've been incarcerated, things like this can be big hurdles. 

Taryn: I work with Eugene on the CJI program and our District Attorney of New York (DANY) arrest diversion program that lets people avoid prison time for some drug offenses. I lead one-on-one harm reduction sessions, help people get trained to use Narcan, and set goals, big and small.

But it only works if there’s trust. Honesty is key to their success, and my ability to help them.

3.    Do participants always trust you right away, or do some just not even want to know you?

Eugene: A lot of participants don’t initially trust anyone, but they recognize me from going into prisons to meet people and leave flyers with my face on them—Arianne Watson and I would do that pre-pandemic. Then when we meet, I share my story. I was also incarcerated and utilized reorientation services. So, I let them know I also didn’t know the steps, but it worked out for me and if they let me, I’ll teach them the steps to keep themselves okay. 

Taryn: Initially, sure. But I let people know where I come from, and I don’t shy away from the truth. I let them know straight-up: I can’t make you be ready, but I can walk you through it and if you want to make it work, support you with that. And I think a lot of the people I work with appreciate that I won’t B.S. them and they won’t B.S. me.

4.    Tell me about a specific person in the program 

Eugene: We had a participant waiting to find permanent housing who went off the grid before he was assigned a residence. My colleague Taryn got a call from a local McDonalds where the participant was having a mental health crisis. We talked to him and found out he’d relapsed. 

I told him “pencils come with erasers, we can fix that.” We got him enrolled in a rehab facility right away, so he wouldn’t be in trouble with his parole officer. Sometimes there isn’t a happy ending, but we’re there. The clients know we care, and they appreciate that— a lot of them have never had that before.  

Taryn: A couple people come to mind, including the person Eugene mentioned. One person was diagnosed as schizophrenic and bipolar, and he had PTSD. He smoked K2 (synthetic marijuana) which he said made him stop hearing voices. He started opening up. And he wouldn’t talk to anyone but me. He went to our writing and art classes, and he wouldn’t even take the incentives offered. When he’d get arrested, he’d tell the police to call me.

5.    How has your program changed during the pandemic?

Eugene: During the pandemic, we never closed. People were still being released from prison and needed housing or support. So we'd meet them somewhere in NYC, I'd find whatever NYC housing office was open and let them know we were coming. I went with our participants to help them understand their documents and sign forms. The big loss is that we couldn’t do big monthly meet and greets in the agency. Before the pandemic, we’d bring in people from the CJI program to get some food and soda, and while they were in, they could access other agency services. 

Taryn: CJI didn’t change at all. We connected clients to open HASA offices in Manhattan and the Bronx, and a YMCA in Queens. Eugene and I would go to HASA with our participants and bring survival backpacks with underwear, socks, t-shirts, phone, wallet, towel, lotion, and other basics and information on our services.

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

Eugene: DJing—I made music with a Serato set a few weeks ago. My stage name is “DJ Unique” and my first gig is actually coming up soon, at a Paint and Sip. I’d also probably be deep into podcasting. I’d like to create a safe, non-judgmental space where people can really talk.  Lastly, I’d like to be by the water—because I grew up in the Hamptons, water makes me feel calm. 

Taryn: I’d love to be a high school/middle school basketball coach. I was a point guard. I’d love to be at a K-12 school so I could really see them grow, and see their journeys. I’d still be doing Narcan trainings and violence-prevention interventions, which I do in my community on my own time. Mrs. Brenda has always appreciated and encouraged us to bring these types of interventions into our own communities.

7.    Is there another question that I have not asked you that I should? 

Eugene: Yes, what’s my philosophy? It’s “do unto others as you’d have them do to you.” 

Taryn: Who is Taryn? A swimmer. I love to swim. I play basketball on Sundays with a lot of guys from my neighborhood. I’m a father. My youngest daughter is like my best friend. She loves to go go-karting, we electric scooter around our complex.