NY1 Features Alliance on the Move in honor of Recovery Month

On Thursday, September 30, 2021, Spectrum News NY1 was on hand to cover Alliance for Positive Change’s LGBTQ+ carnival and resource fair outside of CASA Washington Heights. Participants came together to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride, make arts and crafts projects, and access substance use support services, free COVID-19, HIV, and STI testing through our Alliance on the Move mobile van.

The event took place during the last day of National Recovery Month, but Alliance’s work continues every weekday at its six locations and its mobile unit Alliance on the Move every Monday through Thursday.

Alliance for Positive Change Awarded Grants to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Access

—Funding will expand equitable vaccine access among New Yorkers disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, including low-income and BIPOC communities— 

—Amid the Delta variant, the need for increasing vaccination rates has taken on new urgency—

 (New York, N.Y.)—Amid the rise in Delta variant-related coronavirus cases, Alliance for Positive Change, a nonprofit that has been working to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic for three decades, has been awarded grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Fund for Public Health. The funding will help to reduce preventable COVID-19 infections and death among New Yorkers disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, including low-income and BIPOC communities.

Support from HRSA will advance goals to stop the spread of COVID-19 by implementing strategies that Alliance has deployed for decades in the fight against HIV/AIDS, including leveraging partnerships and community outreach to identify and engage New Yorkers who are vaccine hesitant. In partnership with Housing Works, Argus Community Inc., and BOOM!Health, the grant will enlist Alliance’s corps of peers to serve as community vaccine ambassadors, and involve weekly discussion groups, outreach through Alliance on the Move -- the organization’s mobile van, development of educational material, assistance with scheduling vaccine appointments, and employ social media to reach new audiences.

The Fund for Public Health’s Vaccine Equity Partner Engagement Project supports equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. The grant will strengthen Alliance’s ability to disseminate tailored, community-informed, and culturally relevant messaging about vaccines to address concerns in disproportionately impacted communities, and provide one-on-one navigation services to improve access to vaccinations in Central Harlem.

“Alliance is eager to implement the outreach and education strategies we have learned over the past three decades as an organization serving New Yorkers with HIV and other chronic health conditions to expand equitable vaccine access amid the pandemic,” says Arianne Watson, Director of Outreach & Community Engagement at Alliance for Positive Change. “Tailored vaccine messaging in communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic will be instrumental to advancing the fight against COVID-19.”

The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis that has presented significant obstacles in efforts to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. New data demonstrates that people living with HIV who become infected with the coronavirus are at extremely high risk of severe illness from COVID-19. HIV testing—our most important tool for early detection that saves lives—has decreased by as much as 45% nationwide. People have lost access to care due to lockdowns and increased economic hardship, while the overburdened and under-resourced healthcare system has struggled to keep up.

About Alliance for Positive Change
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 barriers to accessing quality medical care, managing addiction, 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. 

Positive Change Hero: Operations Department's John, Conrad, & Steven

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

John: I am Alliance’s Director of IT & Operations. I started with Alliance in 2001 as a case manager. It was my dream job to be able to help people. I had the opportunity to get into the technology field and Sharen, Alliance’s CEO, encouraged me to get my certification. I am fascinated by technology and love building and tinkering with electronics. I am proud that these 20 years later I now have my dream job with an amazing organization. I am a happy guy with three beautiful children and a wonderful wife.

Conrad: I am a native New Yorker. I am responsible for Alliance’s Midtown Central facilities. I supervise the security, reception, cleaning, and maintenance staff. My relationship with Alliance goes back to 2005. At that time, I was the Head Coach of Team New York Aquatics, which was the largest LBGT+ adult competitive swim team on the planet. Alliance was the recipient of the team’s annual fundraising in support of the HIV advocacy event, the One Hour Swim. This established a great friendship between the team and the work of the Alliance. The team has given to Alliance, through the One Hour Swim, many times over the years, including the past year of the pandemic. In 2013, I had the opportunity to interview for a job at the Alliance. I remain a substitute coach for TNYA and worked to deepen the relationship over the years between the work of the Alliance and friends of the agency and the athletes on the team.

Steven: My name is Steven Jones, I am 50 years old, and I work as the Security/Operations Assistant Manager. I came to the Alliance looking for help after moving from California. I had no job, no medical coverage, and no one to turn to.

2. Tell me about your department and what has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

John: I feel blessed to have such a dedicated team. Even though the IT profession can attract technical communicators, our organization is people-based, and it makes me proud to see my colleagues develop their skills and come out of their shells. Both our operations and IT staff have been steadfast throughout the pandemic. It caught us all by surprise and turned everything upside down. We had to transition over 300 employees to remote work and outfit all six of our offices with new safety measures and round-the-clock cleaning and sanitation. My team was always available throughout the pandemic – never taking a break. They are all champions in my mind!

Conrad: My department continued to show up throughout the pandemic even though much of the time I was just by myself. Someone needed to check on the facility, make sure the lights were turned off, that plants were watered, and check the mail and messages. I rode my bicycle to work every day throughout the pandemic from March 2020 to December 2020 when people began to safely return to Midtown Central on World AIDS Day. I have seen the transition back, from limited visitors to almost normal operations now, up close.

Steven: I helped oversee the day-to-day operations that kept Midtown Central running. When COVID-19 hit, our clients were afraid to return, and normal interactions were impossible due to social distancing and PPE. I help make sure that everyone who enters our building is protected and feels safe to return. I am proud to be our first line of defense against COVID-19.

3. Is there an achievement or contribution to your department you are particularly proud of?

John: I am so proud of my team and being able to be part of their professional growth. Everyone who has come through my department has taken opportunities to develop new skills and advance their careers. I love to inspire everyone I work with and it inspires me to be part of their journeys. I try to keep my team motivated to give their best each and every day and keep reaching for the next goal.

Conrad: We had a major building maintenance issue on top of dealing with the trauma of the pandemic. For months I had to supervise a crew and maintain calm. I am proud I kept the necessary chaos to a minimum, so the staff could return in a rational and controlled manner, with little to worry about.

Steven: I am proud that I am able to contribute and keep the agency running during this pandemic which allows people to be safe.

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

John: I would be sailing on a yacht, of course! But in all seriousness, I am extremely happy and love my work. Not only do I get to work with new technology, I also get to be involved with construction projects and operations workflows – all of my interests! I love to make things work and to tinker. In my free time, I love to build and program drones. It is so rewarding to watch a drone fly!

Conrad: I wish I could travel more, helping other organizations with their traumatic facility issues. This is because I love to travel generally. Even Upstate New York.

Steven: When I go for lunch I always see people in need and my reaction is to let them know where I work and that there is help. Throughout the week I bring at least two or three of people in need to the agency. I would love to do more to be an ambassador for the agency bringing news for what help is out there.

New York Daily News: Alliance for Positive Change leading the fight against overdose deaths

On Sunday, August 15, 2021, the New York Daily News wrote a feature story about the COVID-19-influenced spike in overdose deaths, and the tireless work of staff like Alliance LES Harm Reduction Center’s Shantae Owens.  

Learn more about how Alliance is caring for our community during the coronavirus outbreak here: www.alliance.nyc/coronavirus and support our work by giving to the Coronavirus Support Fund today!

WFUV Cityscape features Alliance’s Floyd Mitchell

Alliance harm reduction coordinator Floyd Mitchell spoke with WFUV’s Cityscape about the surge in opioid use, and how Alliance’s work has become even more vital. While social distance requirements have made it difficult to keep some program participants involved on a path to positive change, Floyd and his colleagues are adapting to ensure we keep promoting positive change.

Alliance’s Floyd Mitchell in Gotham Gazette

“I know what it’s like to be on the front lines of an infectious disease,” Floyd Mitchell, a harm reduction counselor at Alliance for Positive Change writes for the Gotham Gazette. “This time, it’s the twin tragedy of the dramatic rise in overdose deaths amid the pandemic due to the anxiety and isolation of life during lockdown.”

Beginning his career in harm reduction at the height of the HIV epidemic in the 1980’s, Floyd has seen it all, and understands the measures we must all take to support our neighbors battling substance use in these difficult times.

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.

Alliance Executive Director/CEO Sharen Duke Selected as Crain’s Notable in Health Care

Crain’s New York Business has selected Alliance for Positive Change founding Executive Director and CEO Sharen Duke as a 2021 Notable in Health Care, noting that this year’s honorees “have distinguished themselves through their expertise and innovation.”

“We cannot understate the role of the city’s healthcare professionals in helping us emerge from the pandemic,” Crain’s wrote in introducing the honorees. “This year’s Notable in Healthcare edition recognizes their efforts in bringing us to this moment, as well as their numerous contributions apart from the crisis.”

You can view the full list here (subscription required for access) - https://www.crainsnewyork.com/awards/notable-health-care-2021 

In its recognition of Sharen Duke, Crain’s described Alliance’s commitment to supporting New Yorkers during the pandemic, including the delivery of personal protective equipment, pantry items, nutrition information and food gift cards.

“Throughout her tenure, Duke has supported equity in health care. Alliance serves historically marginalized communities of color. Duke has pioneered peer training, peer-delivered health-access services and workforce development for HIV prevention.”

Crain’s Health Pulse: Nonprofit participating in NIH initiative to target Covid in underserved communities

June 21, 2021

A nonprofit providing support to New Yorkers living with HIV or addiction has announced an initiative to encourage Covid-19 testing in underserved communities.

The Alliance for Positive Change said it has partnered with the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Argus Community on a National Institutes of Health program to engage with communities that are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19. Arianne Watson, associate director at the alliance, said the effort is focused on people struggling with substance abuse.

"They're at a cross section of a lot of different vulnerabilities in which they still are at a higher risk to not only have Covid but also spread Covid," Watson said. "Screening and education are still very imperative to risk reduction."

The NIH funds the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics for Underserved Populations initiative. According to the NIH website, the $512 million RADx-UP project aims to understand the factors associated with Covid-19 morbidity and mortality and to work to reduce risk among underserved and vulnerable populations.

Two strategies will be employed for the initiative, Watson said. One is chain referral, in which study participants reach out to people in their social networks to encourage more testing. The other is Alliance Peers, which Watson described as a more traditional method. People with experience go into the community and try to get others on board to get tested, she said.

Watson said the initiative started last year, when the Alliance met with Columbia and the Psychiatric Institute to coordinate the effort. In the coming weeks, she said, they'll be going out into the community to kick off testing.

"According to the most recent New York City Department of Health Covid-19 data, the South Bronx still has some of the highest rates of Covid-19 infection in all of New York City," Daniel Lowy, deputy executive director of Argus, said in a news release. "Argus Community will be reaching those at-risk community members to know their status, provide Covid-19 health education and link those who test positive to care." —Gabriel Poblete

Alliance for Positive Change Launches Innovative Project to Connect People with Opioid and Other Substance Use Challenges to COVID-19 Testing