HIV/AIDS Prevention

Philadelphia HIV Prevention Street Outreach Project

Community health outreach workers conduct health promotion services to individuals at high risk of HIV and viral Hepatitis C (HCV) infection and transmission through behaviors associated with their substance abuse. Outreach staff engage with substance users in individual street level encounters and group venues such as homeless shelters and feeding programs, and provide HIV/HCV risk reduction education, counseling and referral to substance abuse, HCV screening and HIV early intervention services. This project is supported with funding from the Office of Addiction Services of the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation Services.

For more information, please contact:

Teresa Lamore
Associate Program Director
215.731.2174
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New Pathways Project

New Pathways Project is a community-based pre-treatment recovery support program serving men and women seeking help with their drug and alcohol related problems. Utilizing an integrated street outreach, case management counseling and recovery support group meeting model, project staff engage with individuals in active addiction and partner with them to increase their readiness for substance abuse treatment; decrease or eliminate their use of substances; promote their access to treatment; and facilitate their sustained recovery by providing support to those returning to the community following treatment. Individuals who are not ready to enter treatment receive recovery oriented culturally tailored support including referral to health care, mental health and social services. The project team, several of whom are bilingual in Spanish and English, includes street outreach specialists, case managers, researchers, and a corps of consumers called Pathfinders who are trained as peer outreach workers. Evaluation of the intervention includes assessment of information collected through interviews conducted with participants when they enroll in the project and at 6 months follow-up. This project is supported with funding from the Office of Addiction Services of the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation Services.

For more information, please contact:

Eugenia Argires
Program Director
215.985.2526
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New Pathways for Women Project

New Pathways for Women is gender-specific, trauma-informed, community-based pre-treatment and HIV prevention program serving women seeking help with their drug and alcohol problems. Staff conduct outreach services to identify and engage with substance-involved African American women who are at high risk for HIV infection and to enroll them into project services. These include enhanced individual pre-treatment counseling/case management support services, group psychoeducational and peer support sessions, on-site rapid HIV testing, and, as requested escort and referral to medical care, substance abuse treatment, and other support services. This integrated service model promotes women’s understanding of the links between their exposure to violence and victimization and their use of drugs. Staff partner with women to increase their readiness for substance abuse treatment, decrease or eliminate their use of substances, promote their access to treatment, and facilitate their sustained recovery by providing support to those returning to the community following treatment. Women who are not ready to enter treatment receive recovery-oriented woman-centered support including referral to health care, mental health and supportive social services. The project team includes a street outreach worker, case managers, a group facilitator, and researchers. Evaluation of the intervention utilizes an assessment of information collected through interviews conducted with women when they enroll into the project and at a six-month follow-up. This project is supported with funding from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

For more information please contact:

Eugenia Argires
Program Director
215.985.2526
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PALMS Project

The PALMS (Preventing AIDS through Live Movement and Sound) Project is a community-based HIV prevention program designed to reach adolescents and young adults at high risk for HIV infection. PALMS’ multi-session, group-level intervention is implemented on-site in partnership with youth-serving providers. Using a dynamic theater-based approach with trained peer actors, PALMS provides youth with HIV risk reduction education and strategies designed to increase their self-efficacy to practice safer sex behaviors. This program is supported by the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office (AACO) of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

For more information, please contact:

Akil Pierre
Project Coordinator
215.731.2021
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Sisters Informing Healing Living Empowering (SIHLE)

Sisters Informing, Healing, Living and Empowering (SIHLE) is an evidence-based, gender-specific, peer-led, social skills training intervention to help reduce HIV sexual risk behaviors among sexually active African American girls, ages 14 to 18. The SIHLE intervention offers its participants on-site, confidential, rapid HIV counseling, testing and referral services conducted by the Women’s Anonymous Test Site, a program of the Health Federation of Philadelphia.

For more information about SIHLE, please contact:

Tiffany Bacon
SIHLE Project Specialist
267.350.7672
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Young Sisters Take Charge (YSTC)

Young Sisters Take Charge (YSTC) is a one-day, community-based HIV prevention and education event targeting African American women and girls. YSTC also offers on-site, confidential, rapid HIV counseling, testing and referral services conducted by the Women’s Anonymous Test Site, a program of the Health Federation of Philadelphia.

For more information about YSTC, please contact:

Corliss Davis
Project Assistant
267.765.2685
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health promotion

Related Subsidiaries