David Battle presented today at the NACH Agency Meeting on behalf of the Aids Action Coalition.

The AIDS Action Coalition is offering a new program called Healthy Connections. This program is designed for African-American women (although anyone can participate) in a relationship with a man who is either incarcerated or has been recently released from a correctional institution. Program participants are eligible to receive case management services and attend a free overnight retreat with workshops that teach ways to enjoy better sexual, emotional, and physical health. All services are provided to African American women by African American women, and are designed to help families deal with the emotional and financial strain of the re-entry into society. Healthy Connections is an AAC/Davis Clinic program funded by the Office on Women’s Health. Recipients are given a Wal-Mart gift card upon completion of the program.

The AAC/Davis Clinic may be contacted at (256)536-4700 or toll free 1-800-728-3603.

AAC is also offering Project START, an HIV/sexually transmitted disease (STD)/hepatitis risk-reduction program for people returning to the community after incarceration. The program includes enrollment plus six (6) program sessions with each client and works with them one-on-one to serve as a bridge to their return to the community. The program begins up to sixty (60) days before clients are released and continues with clients for three (3) months in the community after they are released from the correctional facility.

Project START provides a range of counseling and prevention strategies to tailor the program to the unique strengths and resources of each individual by using a client-centered step-by-step approach. These strategies include goal setting, problem solving, strengthening motivation, decision making, and facilitated referrals. Project START also covers many other issues and challenges people face when they are released from a correctional setting into the community (e.g., finding affordable housing, securing viable employment, or dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues).

This program has been packaged by CDC’s Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions project, and training and technical assistance is available through the CDC’s Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions project. Information on obtaining the intervention training and materials is available here.

“Talk, Listen, Connect” (TLC) is a six-session relationship-based intervention that teaches African-American couples techniques and skills to enhance the quality of their relationship, communication and shares committment to safer behaviors.

The program is based on the AIDS Risk Reduction Model, which organizes behavioral change into three phases - recognize risk, committ to change, and act on strategies - and on the Ecological Perspective that emphasizes personal, relational, and societal influences on behavior. TLC integrates techniques commonly used in family therpay, which allow couples to work together to solve shared problems.

“Woman 2 Woman” is an evidence-based health promotion intervention for African-American females ages 16 and older at high-risk for HIV. W2W is a client-centered program delivered one-on-one using cognitive behavioral techniques to change behavior.

The intervention provides clients with the skills necessary to be able to make healthy choices for their lives. Because of the way W2W is designed (i.e., five [5] required core skill sessions, five to ten [5-10] menu sessions, and a wrap-up session), counselors can tailor the intervention to fit each client’s unique circumstances.

“Man 2 Man” is a client-centered HIV prevention activity for African-American men who have sex with with men. THe program provides intensive, ongoing, and individualized counseling, support and service brokerage.

The M2M prevention case manager’s primary role is to work closely with other referral providers to assist clients whose psychosocial needs are a barrier to their risk-reduction goals by providing traditional case management services such as linkage to mental health or substance abuse treatment.

Each of these programs is federally funded and while these programs are designed for more at-risk demographics, but they are open to anyone who might benefit from the program! If you think one of these programs is for you or you are interested in disease prevention courses please contact the AIDS Action Coalition.

Founded in 2005, Still Serving Veterans (SSV) has helped more than 1,000 wounded veterans and their families connect with the services they need to deal with life changing injuries while reintegrating into civilian lives and careers. Based in Huntsville, Alabama, SSV has become a nationally-recognized center of excellence as a grass roots-level reintegration orchestrator for wounded veterans and their families. SSV bridges the gaps, helping veterans assess their medical, vocational and counseling needs, and then connecting those veterans with existing federal, state and local support services.

Our critical asset is our thorough knowledge of what services are available and the processes for obtaining those services, combine with caring case workers who understand the unique needs of combat veterans.

As an accepted role model, SSV has been encouraged by the offices of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program and other organizations to expand its service to help wounded veterans and their families in other regions of the U.S.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are causing unprecedented numbers of traumatic, life-changing wounds. More than 35,000 service members have been wounded, more than 6,000 of those are severely disabled. There are 50,000 documented cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, with estimates that at least 200,000 additional cases have not been diagnosed, are unreported or have not yet manifested.

Oxford House is a concept in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. In its simplest form, an Oxford House describes a democratically run, self-supporting and drug free home. Parallel to this concept lies the organizational structure of Oxford House, Inc. This publicly supported, non-profit 501(c)3 corporation is the umbrella organization which provides the network connecting all Oxford Houses and allocates resources to duplicate the Oxford House concept where needs arise.

The number of residents in a House may range from six to fifteen; there are houses for men, houses for women, and houses which accept women with children. Oxford Houses flourish in metropolitan areas such as New York City and Washington D.C. and thrive in such diverse communities as Hawaii, Washington State, Canada and Australia; but they all abide by the basic criteria.

Each House represents a remarkably effective and low cost method of preventing relapse. This was the purpose of the first Oxford House established in 1975, and this purpose is served, day by day, house after house, in each of over 1,200 houses in the United States today.

NACH Notice: The latest yearly membership application form has been updated and posted to the website for your convenience! Revised membership rolls will begin to be generated within the month. If you or your agency would like to become a member of the Coalition please visit us at http://nachcares.org for application information. Please note that individual memberships are now $25 and agency memberships are $100. Look for our newsletter, coming soon!

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