National Harm Reduction Conference: Alliance's Shantae Leads Presentation on Fentanyl

Last week, Puerto Rico hosted hundreds of harm reduction practitioners and policy experts to discuss their work. Alliance was proudly represented by Outreach Specialist Shantae Owens, who has been a very powerful speaker due to his lived experience. He is also an active member of Voices of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY) with whom he lead a presentation on the temporary federal scheduling of fentanyl as a Schedule 1 drug.

“The federal government's saying this would be the way to get so-called ‘drug kingpins’, but what we're seeing is it's affecting low-level dealers. Most of these dealers also use their own drugs. It's primarily punishing people who use drugs, many of them don’t even know there’s fentanyl in their supply to begin with,” said Shantae, who noted that the harsher penalties involved with class-wide Schedule 1 drugs make people afraid to call 911 when they’re with someone experiencing an overdose.

The three day conference brought together hundreds of people from across the U.S. to learn how others are doing the work, network, and learn policy as well as street-level findings.

Alliance Voices at Barnes & Noble 2022

Before a crowd of over 50 people, poets Eugene Eppes, Harriet McNeill (a.k.a. Star Heed), Charles Waters, Azeem Khan, IA, and Rosa Velez read poems they have written. The event included readings from, and a memorial tribute to, Alliance poets we’ve lost in recent years.

After a three-year-hiatus from this event, it was great to be back in Barnes & Noble celebrating community, and the transformational powers of art and creativity. More photos of the event can be found HERE.

Alliance Voices Poetry Reading at Barnes & Noble August 2022

Photo: David Nager/Alliance

Alliance Recognizes Black History Month 2022

Black History Month started as Negro History Week in 1926. Author, journalist, and historian Carter G. Woodson wrote that “If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world.”

Much of the history of America has been in trying to strip Black people of connections to their rich heritage. As Maya Angelou put it "The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are."

To that end, Alliance is proud to celebrate Black history not just in February, but year-round. Alliance has asked staff, Peers, and program participants to honor some of their Black heroes, and share why they inspire them. Read about some of these Black role models @thealliance_nyc.

Kisha Dodson—a respiratory therapist at a VA hospital in Florida, mother of Alliance’s own Ashley.

Dr. Shirley Jackson—the first African American woman to receive a doctorate from M.I.T., and the first African American to become a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Ella Fitzgerald—The “Queen of Jazz,” the most popular female jazz singer in the U.S. for decades, winner of 14 Grammy Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Bessie Coleman—”The Only Race Aviatrix in the World,” the first Black woman, and the first Native American woman to hold a pilot’s license. She opened an aviation school to teach Black women to fly, and break down barriers as she did.

Brenda Starks-Ross, Waverly Fair, and Jean Pierre-Louis—Alliance’s very own Ardith Cornelius wanted to recognize the roles that Alliance’s COO Ms. Brenda, and Waverly and Jean of the Peer program, played in helping her make change in her own life, and helping others. Thank you Ardith, Ms. Brenda, Waverly and Jean!

Black history matters year-round, and our pages will continue to spotlight Black leaders year-round. If you would like to recognize someone, please email communications@alliance.nyc

Women from TWIST and My Sister's Room Enjoy Wicked

Last month, the Women’s Health Initiative Program led a trip to see Wicked on Broadway. The trip was specifically for participants in Alliance’s TWIST program (Transgender Women Involved in Strategies for Transformation, a CDC-modeled peer-led program), and My Sister's Room​, our weekly support group for transgender women.

Lexii Foxx, an Alliance Peer, invited a group of trans women to attend. For many, it would be their first Broadway show, and this wasn’t just any show, but one of Broadway’s most popular shows ever! It also was the first production of Wicked to feature a trans actress, Alexandra Billings as Madame Morrible.

“They felt inspired to see a lead Trans actress, I most definitely think this was one of the benefits of visibility for the whole experience,” said Lexii, who, despite putting so much time into the planning of the event, was unable to attend after testing positive for COVID-19. “Everyone was really happy, thankful, they love the songs, everyone described the night as magical, beautiful, and elegant.”

“It was awesome to see the impact on the rest of the girls, most of them hadn’t ever been to a Broadway show,” said Alana Martin, a program participant and TV and film actress who had always wanted to see Wicked. “I had a beautiful time, that show was so popular when I was younger so it was nice to see it, especially this historic cast with this group of girls.”

All seats were in the 5th or 6th row. Dr. Erin McKinney-Prupis, Director of Women’s Services, felt that “everyone had an incredible time.”

TWIST was designed to provide a framework for transgender women to share their lived experiences as a means of recognizing and valuing their social and cultural resilience.

Alana spoke about the important subject matter in Wicked. “Female friendship is so important, especially in the trans community, so there were a lot of tears, happy tears.”

It was Gracey Fernandes’ first time on Broadway. “That experience was one of the best I had ever had! It was mind-blowing, it was thrilling, it was ecstatic. It was just what I needed to revive my mental state,” she said. A recent immigrant—she came to the U.S. in late 2020—the play lit a fire in her to pursue seeing more theatrical productions.

“To have the stage light up, and the choreography, and the lighting effects—and the background was spectacular—it was like seeing a movie being filmed. It was just awesome,” she said. Billings, in particular “was a masterpiece. That woman was magnanimous. She was featured often in the play and wasn’t just a cameo role, so that was cool. There wasn’t a flaw, everybody was spot on, the music was serenading. I saw people crying. I wanted to cry, it was so touching. It was the best.”

Fully recovered from COVID-19, Lexii takes pride in organizing what was “a very captivating mechanism for this group and moments that they can remember for the rest of their life.”

Events like this trip to Wicked are only possible because of generous donations to Alliance, and TWIST in particular. You can make a tax-deductible donation to Alliance’s TWIST program today by visiting this link.

Alliance's “PATH to Jobs” Program Included in Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney’s Top Ten Requests For Community Project Funding

—Innovative workforce development program puts New Yorkers in need on path to economic mobility; now eligible for $1 million in federal funding—

(New York, N.Y.)—U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (New York’s 12th Congressional District) has selected Alliance for Positive Change’s “PATH to Jobs” peer workforce development program as one of the top ten projects she has submitted for federal Community Project Funding for FY2022. If chosen, the program will receive $1 million to vastly increase Alliance’s career readiness and job placement services, helping significantly more New Yorkers along their journeys toward recovery and economic independence.

“I thank Alliance for Positive Change and Sharen Duke, along with the entire dedicated staff, for hosting me at their facility,” Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said. “Every aspect of the Alliance’s mission is deeply committed to improving the lives of New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses. They have created an environment that both helps and heals adults of all ages and backgrounds who are struggling to secure healthcare, jobs services, and nutritional support. It is incumbent upon legislators like myself to support organizations like Alliance for Positive Change and ensure they get the funding they need to continue the great work they are doing to help the people of New York City, especially as we recover from the COVID-19 crisis.”

“I am fiercely proud and often awed by the courage and tenacity of our Peers, making positive changes in their own lives, and then ‘paying it forward’ to help others,” said Sharen I. Duke, Alliance CEO & Executive Director. “Alliance is profoundly grateful for Congresswoman Maloney’s leadership and dedication to New Yorkers, and honored by the Congresswoman’s visit to Alliance, seeing us in action, and meeting the Peers who partner with us to provide training and support through the PATH to Jobs program.”

Founded 30 years ago amid the early years of the AIDS epidemic, Alliance serves low-income New Yorkers with a range of chronic health conditions and substance use challenges, offering them medical care, harm reduction, peer support, and housing assistance in their path towards health and stability. Since 1992, Alliance’s PATH to Jobs has provided career readiness and job placement services, including vocational education, coaching, supervision, training, benefits counseling about the impact of employment on public entitlements, and support in successfully attaining and sustaining employment. 

Graduates of this program find job placement opportunities in health and social service agencies across New York, and at Alliance—which has built its own Peer workforce, employing 130+ Peer workers trained by the program each year.

Scaling Alliance’s PATH to Jobs program will facilitate the creation of a centralized career readiness and job placement program across New York City. State certified Peer workers will be placed in part-time and full-time jobs in: managed care companies and Medicaid Health Homes; hospitals and community health centers; HIV service agencies; STD clinics; syringe exchange/opioid overdose prevention programs; substance use treatment clinics; supportive housing programs; and community-based organizations of all kinds.
 

About The Alliance for Positive Change

The Alliance for Positive Change supports lasting, positive change among low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses. Focusing on underserved communities of color, our culturally competent, multilingual services remove structural barriers to accessing quality medical care, managing/overcoming substance use, escaping homelessness, and achieving economic mobility. We address the underlying issues that contribute to health inequity through individualized, full-service support based on a harm reduction approach designed to help New Yorkers lead healthier, more self-sufficient lives. Because everyone deserves the chance to feel better, live better, and do better. Learn more at www.alliance.nyc.