On Wednesday, May 14, Alliance for Positive Change celebrated the 64th graduating class of its renowned Peer training program. The ceremony – which included 13 graduates - was held at Alliance Midtown Central headquarters, with over 75 guests in attendance.
You can find photos and videos from the moving ceremony here.
For over three decades, Alliance for Positive Change’s renowned Peer training program has provided New Yorkers living with and affected by HIV and other chronic conditions with leadership and economic mobility opportunities. Peer graduates become community leaders who use their lived experience and training to help fellow New Yorkers facing health challenges.
Alliance for Positive Change’s Peer training program is an intensive eight-week capacity-building and skills training program that harnesses the power of mentoring to help others initiate and maintain healthy behaviors. Through the training, participants learn how to help break down barriers to health care access and become leaders in their communities. Alliance for Positive Change employs over 100 trained Peer Workers who provide prevention education, HIV and hepatitis C screening, linkage to care, harm reduction support, overdose prevention, accompaniment to appointments, and more to thousands of New Yorkers across the city.
"I enrolled in Peer training because I wanted to help others navigate health challenges. Peer training has empowered me to turn that idea into action," said Laverne Bailey, the graduate testimonial speaker. “Along with learning how to meet our community’s needs and create a supportive community of our own, Peer training made me confident and motivated to share my knowledge to help other people access HIV and hepatitis C screenings, prevention education, and other resources that improve health.”
“As role models, Peers are both empowered and powerful,” said Sharen I. Duke, Alliance CEO & Executive Director. “And this is the essence of Peer training: understanding your inner power and translating it externally through role modeling and through the sharing of lived experiences. I am thrilled to celebrate Alliance’s newest Peer graduates as they apply their healthcare knowledge and personal experiences to help others.”
Presenting Sponsor Avita Pharmacy was in attendance and joined by sponsors Corporate Synergies and Aurora Private Wealth.
“Avita is proud to once again sponsor Alliance for Positive Change’s renowned peer education program,” said Avita Pharmacy CEO, Michael Yount. “We applaud this year’s graduates, who epitomize leadership and the future of health outreach, as well as those who follow in their footsteps. It is an absolute honor to partner with Alliance on their crucial mission of helping people navigate systemic health inequities and achieve true wellness.”
About Alliance for Positive Change
Alliance for Positive Change is a leading multiservice organization that provides low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic conditions with access to quality health care, housing, harm reduction, coaching, and our renowned peer training and job placement program that cultivates leadership and economic mobility. Alliance opened in 1991, at the height of the HIV crisis—a welcoming community of transformation and opportunity. Today, we deliver on the promise of Positive Change with services and resources that equip people to navigate systemic inequities and achieve health and well-being. Learn about all the ways we inspire Positive Change at www.alliance.nyc.
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