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.

HIV Warriors: Fighting Stigma with Camp

With the launch of Captain Condom’s second edition ONE Condoms wrappers, many in the Alliance community have been reminded of the agency’s first safer sex superheroes.

On September 27, 2015, National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Alliance unveiled the HIV Warriors, a collaboration with The Prevention Collaborative and Heads or Tails NYC. An A&U article announced the Warriors as “the stories of young men living with or affected by HIV—HIV Warriors—who are committed to destigmatizing the disease, educating, and promoting testing and treatment. Saturated with pride colors, these HIV Warriors are trained peer educators who will share their experiences and truths across their communities.”

The Warriors were a creative collective raising awareness about safer sex and promoting a hotline to help New Yorkers receive PEP and PrEP. Seven years later, several of the Warriors are still very active in the Alliance community. The Orange Warrior was a benevolent mad scientist type, created by Brandon Lee aka Pooh, and the second Yellow Warrior, battling for normalization and authenticity for people with HIV, was created by Jonathan Atkins. We caught up with them on what the project meant to them, and the ongoing mission of promoting safer sex.

Photo Credit: Alina Oswald

Brandon Lee aka Pooh

Q: Can you tell us the genesis of the project ,and you being the Orange Warrior?

A: I had been a Peer at Alliance for two years, after graduating PREP Cycle 42, then went to help Guy and Ramona with the MSM group. You hear about “know the statistics, don’t be the statistic” but this project was more fun, more interesting.

I was not HIV positive and I felt like I should go and learn, ask my friends who are positive about their experience. So my power was learning.

The Warriors as a concept was a way to get away from trauma-informed care and instead meet people where they are. This was when Instagram first started taking off, so our feeling was let’s just post something online and have fun with it, get info out there.

 

Q: What’s with the eye patch?

A: I thought “what represents intelligence, and I thought A MAD SCIENTIST, but a kind one.” I put a strike of Orange in my hair.

 

 Q: What was your pre-Warrior outreach like?

A: I had done plenty of outreach, doing 10,000 condom distribution days, lobbying in Albany for better HIV care. As a student at Harvey Milk High School, we presented at the Emory awards, getting people tested.

 

Q: What are some other ideas you’d like to implement to promote safer sex?

A: In the spirit of HIV Warriors, I think communities should have an “accountabili—buddy” that takes their friends to health care appointments, keeps them accountable.

Our agency does a lot of work reaching new people, and I think it’d be cool to reward people who bring in folks to get tested/be clients.

Photo Credit:Alina Oswald

Photo Credit: Alina Oswald

Jonathan Atkins

Q: Can you tell us the genesis of the project andyou being one of the two Yellow Warriors?

A: An Alliance employee at the time, named Christel Hyden, got people together to be warriors. It was a campaign that was intended to be fun and empowering, and remove stigma.

I initially declined to be one of the warriors, but when another gentleman who had planned to be at the photoshoot wasn’t able to attend, I stepped up as the Yellow Warrior.

We did a photo campaign, we also did a performance at the agency, where people asked us specific questions. We did outreach a few times. At the time, one of the interventions we were doing was called “Many Men, Many Voices” to get MSMs who were afraid of confronting the possibility of HIV, and address PEP and PrEP.

 

Q: Was this your first outreach around prevention and treatment? 

A: No, definitely not, but it was my first time sharing my personal experiences and unique perspective on HIV. It was a little scary at first, which goes back to my original reluctance, but once I did it, it just became not a big deal anymore. If I’m talking about getting rid of the stigma and normalizing it, I also had to do this within myself.


Q: I understand that the warriors picked their own powers and descriptions. What were yours? 

A: My power was “bringing light to people’s lives” and my strength was “being open about HIV, discussing it, being knowledgeable, and disputing myths.”


Q: That’s always been a big barrier to prevention and treatment, right?

A: Yes. My goal has been to normalize it, let folks know that people live with HIV but it’s only one facet of their lives, it doesn’t define who they are, and it’s not something that necessarily has to handicap you. 


When Brandon was a Peer at Alliance, he was also working at the post office. He worked at another HIV organization for several years before returning to Alliance as a Community Health Worker in March 2022.

Jonathan Atkins moved on to Mt. Sinai Institute for Advanced a few years after donning the cape as one of the Yellow Warriors. He returned to Alliance in April of this year as a Health Trainer working with the MSM community.  

While the HIV Warriors may not be doing fresh photoshoots soon, the activism of the Warriors continues. More importantly, the goal of safer sex continues. And as The Orange Warrior reminds us, its form doesn’t have to be trauma-informed. Campy is the name and safer sex is the game, with HIV Warriors as with Captain Condom.

Alliance Marks World Hunger Day with Promise to Keep Supporting NYers in Need

Sunday, October 16, marks World Hunger Day, an international day of action that has been observed since 1945. In New York City, food insecurity has skyrocketed since the outbreak of COVID-19. Access to nutritious food is especially important to people with chronic health conditions, including HIV/AIDS.

Alliance is committed to meeting the increased need with prepared meals at our community centers, and nutritious produce and pantry goods so people can eat nutritious foods at Alliance and in their homes. To support our work fighting hunger this season CLICK HERE.

Alliance for Positive Change Receives $750,000 in Federal Funding to Provide Recovery Support Amid Overdose Crisis

(New York, N.Y.)— Alliance for Positive Change has been awarded $750,000 in federal funding for recovery and harm reduction programming amid the growing overdose crisis. The funding from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will go to the development of the Supportive Opioid Addiction Recovery (SOAR) program at Alliance. 

Founded more than 30 years ago amid the height of the AIDS epidemic, Alliance 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, and job training. 

The SOAR program will connect more than 600 low-income individuals who use drugs with Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) and other evidence-based recovery services, such as counseling and behavioral therapies. This funding will vastly increase Alliance’s ability to conduct outreach and engagement, screening for HIV and HCV, counseling and Peer coaching, and recovery support services.

“I am thrilled that Alliance for Positive Change received a critical $750,000 in funding to help continue their work combatting the overdose crisis in our City. Alliance is integral to our community, and I’m honored to be able to support their work through federal funding,” said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney. “The need for help is evident, and I am glad that the Alliance has the resources it needs to help be a part of the solution.” 

 “Alliance is grateful that SAMHSA has awarded us this funding to expand our leadership in harm reduction and recovery,” says Alliance for Positive Change Founding Executive Director/CEO Sharen I. Duke. “The urgency of the overdose crisis is clear: more New Yorkers die of overdoses than homicides, suicides, and motor vehicle crashes combined. We are proud to promote the health and safety of people who use drugs and support their chosen paths to recovery and positive change.”

"Every New Yorker who comes to us has unique needs and life experiences, so we must offer a full spectrum of services to reach those who are being impacted by the overdose crisis," says Alliance’s Chief Program Officer of Prevention Services Ramona Cummings. "This crucial funding will go a long way towards increasing education around and access to Medication-Assisted Treatment. It is vital to be able to offer a range of lifesaving harm reduction and recovery supports that meet each individuals' goals."

Many of the people who will be served by SOAR live with other chronic health conditions and face systemic inequities, including insufficient access to quality medical and behavioral healthcare and substance use treatment. Certified Recovery Peer Advocates who have similar life experience will conduct community-based outreach and recruitment.

In 2023, Alliance will implement a hub service model based out of its Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center, where it will expand provider hours at its drop-in space. In future years, the program will expand to Alliance’s Midtown Manhattan headquarters, East Harlem, and East Village program sites to serve communities hit hardest by the overdose crisis.

Overdose deaths reached historic highs in New York City during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene reports that in the first two quarters of 2021, there were 1,233 overdose deaths in New York City, compared to 965 overdose deaths during the same period in 2020. Alliance’s SOAR program will address this concerning trend by providing New Yorkers who use drugs with health care, recovery support, peer counseling, and other vital services.

About Alliance for Positive Change

Alliance for Positive Change is a leading multi-service 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 renowned peer training and job placement programs that cultivate leadership and economic mobility. Alliance opened in 1991, at the height of the HIV crisis—a welcoming community of transformation and opportunity. Today, Alliance delivers 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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Positive Change Hero: 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.

Brittany Gomez featured in City Limits for Recovery Month

Alliance Peer and PREP Cycle 58 graduate Brittany Gomez shared her story in a guest column for City Limits. She advocates for more harm reduction services and options that support people in recovery without shaming people who use drugs including alcohol. As Brittany writes: “There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the overdose crisis. Recovery was the right path for me, but harm reduction interventions that help individuals use drugs more safely might work better for others.”

Positive Change Hero: Maria

Maria Madrid is one of the most vivacious, fun, and friendly people our staff, Peers, program participants, and visitors see at Alliance Midtown Central. After more than two decades, Maria is celebrating her retirement and transitioning from full-time to part-time work. We at Alliance are so grateful to Maria for her passion for harm reduction, and the kindness she shows everyone she comes into contact with. We’re so glad that she’ll still be in the office a few days a week, even if less than we’ve grown accustomed to, and wish her health and happiness with her extra free time. She has definitely earned it. We recently sat down with Maria to learn more about her work as a frontline hero.

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

Maria: I came to Alliance almost 30 years ago. I was using a lot of drugs and went to a lot of NA meetings. Someone I met there was coming to Alliance when we were ASC on 14th St. I’ve stayed for 22 years because I like to see people make positive changes.

2.    Tell me about your approach to your work and the program participants you see

Maria: Most of the people in my programs are people who use drugs. A lot of people can do moderation, like going from using four bags a week to two, that’s a huge improvement for them. Some people can’t. So some people’s solutions are different. I always treat people like people, and I think that’s what we do here, and it works. In my experience, nobody in the shelter system asks people how they are doing or if they need anything? We’re always polite and patient.

3.    Do you base a lot of how you treat people you work with on your personal experiences?

Maria: Oh absolutely. Like I said, some people are all or nothing when they’re using drugs. I was one of them. I couldn’t do moderation, so I know that other people are the same way. So I haven’t touched drugs or liquor in 29 years.

I also went through the shelter system. I also went through difficult relationships I had to repair. Including with my kids.

4.    Can you me about a specific person in the program?

Maria: The person who brought me here was Lurenda, I’ll always remember her. One person, I’m not going to say his name obviously, but he is always trying to stop, so he’s in the methadone program. His drug use was making his hepatitis C worse. We were able to get him into the methadone program, and for a while, his hepatitis C was supressed. He’s relapsed since then, but we’re not giving up on him. 

5.    How has your program changed during the pandemic?

Maria: It was good. I had a chance to hold more Zoom groups and the participants who were not tech-savvy still learned how to do it. A lot of people haven’t come back, yet, and some people are adapting. I think also people are going to have trauma from trying to deal with the world right now.

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

Maria: If I had a million dollars, I would be doing this same type of job, giving people help who want it. Because people making serious changes in their lives is a long-term process.

7.    So you’ve just transition away from working full-time Alliance, right?  

Maria: Yes. I’m becoming a Peer here. After 22 years of working full-time here, I’m taking more time to be with my family. My kids are 48 and 44. I have two granddaughters, one who is 30 who has twins.

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

Maria: I’ll give you my philosophy, too: Be good to yourself and be good to other people. You can’t help everyone, but don’t put someone down because you can’t help them.

Positive Change Hero: 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.

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