Prevention & Self Care

Health People Peer Educators work on the front lines

to identify and reach hard-to-find populations at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, as well as chronic illnesses such as Hep C, STIs, diabetes, mental health issues and substance abuse.

Working at street outreaches, shelters, SROs, transitional housing, soup kitchens, community centers and schools, peers locate, educate, support, advocate for, link and escort clients to area clinics and hospitals — and follow up — to ensure that clients are receiving the best possible care.

Peers also conduct frequent risk-reduction and prevention activities, including condom, literature distribution, and group workshops and support groups.

Programs and Services Include:

The Diabetes Conquerors Program

The Diabetes Conquerors Program is a groundbreaking program that brings together the skills and determination of community residents to reverse the Bronx’s crippling diabetes epidemic. Launched by South Bronx women who decided to become diabetes prevention educators, it now also includes diabetes self-care education and an unique program of peer-delivered foot care education designed to bring down the Bronx’s extremely high diabetes-related foot amputation rate.

As part of the Diabetes Conquerors Program, Health People became the first Bronx-based organization authorized by the Centers for Disease Control to provide the nationally recognized National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP.) We are also Master Trainers for the Stanford Diabetes Self-Management Program (DSMP), an evidence-based six-session course for people with diabetes conducted by peer leaders. Our peer-delivered Lower Extremity Amputation Prevention (LEAP) education for people with diabetes who have neuropathy—which puts them at high risk for foot problems—is a groundbreaking, community response to fighting the highest amputation rate in New York State.

All told, the Diabetes Conquerors is a powerful, community driven approach to making real progress against diabetes. If you are interested in preventive education, self-care education, or you have diabetes and also know you have foot neuropathy, there is a course for you—and an opportunity to join together to finally say that, yes, the Bronx can win against diabetes!

For more information about these programs or to register for an upcoming course, contact Evelyn Rivas, Program Coordinator at 718-585-8585, ext. 292 or EvelynRivas@healthpeople.org.

The Bronx AIDS Prevention and Care Program

(Funded by the NYS Department of Health/AIDS Institute)

One of the oldest continuing programs at Health People, The Bronx AIDS Prevention and Care Program (BAPCP) offers a continuum of education and

  • Risk screening for HIV, Hep C, STIs, mental health and substance abuse
  • Referrals to testing
  • Escorts to treatment and care
  • Counseling
  • Risk-reduction workshops

ETB (Evidence Theory Based) Interventions

(Funded by the City Council of New York)

These dynamic, evidence-based courses consist of 5- to 6-session interactive risk-reduction workshops for HIV-positive and -negative men and women.

They have been proved to help participants build healthier and safer relationships, decrease risk through increased condom usage and increased coping skills.

For more information, contact Rosa Martinez, Program Coordinator at 718-585-8585, ext. 294 or RosaMartinez@healthpeople.org.

Bronx High Need Re-Entry Health Project

(Funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation)

This program has provided unprecedented research about the services critically needed by previously incarcerated men and women in the South Bronx; it also advocates for re-entry reform.

First, our groundbreaking needs assessment found that 58% of releasees sent by the state to the South Bronx do not have Medicaid cards. Now, our re-entry peers are helping hundreds of releasees get Medicaid cards and then escorting them immediately to critical services, particularly drug treatment and mental health services.

For more information, contact Chris Norwood, Executive Director at 718-585-8585, ext. 239 or  ChrisNorwood@healthpeople.org . News: http://bit.ly/1mQv2Hm

Communities of Color

(Funded by the New York City Council)

This program concentrates on two groups it is imperative to link to AIDS care: those who have dropped out and those who still don’t know their HIV status.

For more information, contact Michael Goodhope at MichaelGoodhope@healthpeople.org