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Alliance Provides Narcan Training to New York State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein and District Staff

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(New York, N.Y.)— Alliance for Positive Change partnered with New York State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein’s office to provide an in-person training on how to identify and reverse drug overdoses by administering Naloxone. The Assembly Member and his district staff members received their Naloxone responder kits yesterday at his Avenue B office. Opioid overdose reversal medication can be used by non-medical professionals to temporarily reverse the effects of opioids, such as heroin or fentanyl, particularly in situations of overdose. The nonprofit conducts over 100 overdose prevention trainings annually for the community, corporations, local businesses, and elected officials.

The overdose crisis has become one of the most pressing issues of our time; opioid overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, and 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. COVID, combined with the rising prevalence of fentanyl, led to over 100,000 Americans losing their lives to drug overdoses from May 2020 to April 2021, up almost 30% from the previous year. We must give all New Yorkers the tools to protect against overdose.

“We are proud to partner with Assembly Member Harvey Epstein’s office to promote the health and safety of New Yorkers,” says Alliance for Positive Change Chief Program Officer of Prevention Services Ramona Cummings. “New York City is facing the same overdose crisis as many regions across our country, and we thank the Assembly Member and his staff for recognizing the need to gain the skills to prevent unnecessary deaths. We must work together to end this crisis.”

“The most complex public health challenges require all of us to play a part. We know a harm reduction model is very effective when it comes to preventing overdose deaths due to opioid use and knowing how to administer Narcan is a critical tool. We’re lucky to have organizations like Alliance for Positive Change doing the important work of keeping our communities safe through education and connections to services that address the root causes of public health crises. I want to thank them for their leadership and for training our staff,” said Assemblymember Harvey Epstein.

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. Alliance meets people where they are to access qualified healthcare, reduce risk, and explore harm reduction or recovery at their own pace. Alliance’s clinical interventions and supportive services include one-on-one counseling and coaching, education, and syringe exchange services.

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 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

Role Model Stories: Ismael R.

I’m a 52 year-old gay man living with HIV. I realized I was gay at the age of 5 but kept it to myself. I have one brother and one sister who I took care of while my mother went to work.  

I had what you would consider a normal childhood until my mother found a letter that a guy had written me. She questioned me and I was honest because I wanted to live an authentic life. When I was 16, she asked me to leave home, and I obliged. I wound up in the streets and found myself at The Covenant House.  

At the age of 17 I became a stripper at the Show Palace in Times Square to make ends meet. While I was dancing my boss hooked me up with a pimp and I started to escort. I continued that for a couple of years and at the age of 20 I met a guy at a Grace Jones concert. I still escorted and danced for 2 years before he found out, and that was when I stopped escorting.  

The relationship lasted for six years until he died of AIDS. I knew I had HIV but was in denial. I didn’t bother to get tested because I didn’t want to know or have to take medication.  

After my partner passed, I was left with nothing. I was severely depressed and went from house to house and eventually I tried to commit suicide. That left me at the hospital where I finally took an HIV Test and learned my truth.

After that, I started selling drugs and moved to Boston with a friend. That only lasted a year because I couldn’t be my true authentic self and lead my gay life. I finally decided it was time to pick up the pieces.   

It was when then I reconciled with my mom and I can say we have a great relationship. I applied for a NYCHA apartment in the meantime. I then met my second lover and had gotten a job as a process server. We had moved in together and had a great relationship that lasted for four years, but we both knew we were better off as friends. His brother and I decided to start a home improvement business.  

After that ended, I fell back into a deep depression but things quickly turned around. While I was in therapy my psychiatrist guided me in the right direction. I eventually got my apartment at NYCHA and landed an interview with Alliance for Positive Change in 2006.   

My life was finally turning around for the better. I got accepted to Alliance’s Peer Recovery Education Program (PREP) and became a Peer not long after that. Alliance helped me put my life back on track and allows me to share my story of hope with my clients. Even though I have no regrets, it allowed me to learn from my experiences and made me the person I am today

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Alliance COO Brenda Starks-Ross and Save New York Safety Net Coalition Fight Cuomo Carve Out

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“It’s imperative to have someone help them navigate through the system to make sure that all their needs are met so they can remain healthy,” said COO Brenda Starks-Ross in NY State of Politics on Tuesday, October 25. The article features several members of organizations comprising the Save New York Safety Net Coalition. With the SNYSN, we have staged rallies every month since June and gone up to Albany to rally against “The Cuomo Carve Out” which is scheduled to go into effect Spring 2023.

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.”