ASNCY Hosts 45th Graduation of Peer Training Program

AIDS Service Center NYC (ASCNYC) will host the 45th graduation of their Peer Training program on Wednesday, November 18, from 5-6:30 p.m. at Mount Sinai Medical Center's Goldwurm Auditorium located at 1425 Madison Ave at 98th Street in the Icahn Building. Thirty individuals are expected to graduate from this unique program for people living with HIV.

"I am so proud of these graduates and thrilled we can provide a program that offers second chances to New Yorkers who will now 'pay it forward' and impact their own communities," said ASCNYC Executive Director Sharen Duke. �

Since 1992, ASCNYC has been designing and delivering innovative peer education and training programs that create the economic, social and health-related building blocks to empower Peer trainees to take control of their lives by improving their health, sustaining long-term recovery from substance abuse, and developing marketable skills.

ASCNYC's Peer Recovery Education Program (PREP) addresses the complex needs of HIV-positive people in recovery from drug or alcohol use, PREP provides recovering substance users with intensive training and relapse prevention services, including counseling, education, crisis intervention, and risk reduction skills development.

The intensive, ten-week training course provides participants with the core knowledge and skills needed to succeed in part-time or full-time employment. PREP participants acquire knowledge and skills for community outreach, health coaching, linkage to care, motivational interviewing, service navigation, and other activities that support improved health and retention in care.

"It is our peer education and training program that truly sets us apart from all the other AIDS Service Organizations," said Duke. "For 25 years, ASCNYC has been a leader in the establishment of peer training, peer support and peer-delivered services. In 2014, ASCNYC peer educators conducted over 2,000 community outreach and educational presentations across New York City, reaching over 14,000 New Yorkers with health promotion and disease prevention information, teaching about the importance of knowing your status, getting tested and connecting to care. ASCNYC's peer program develops skills, self-confidence, second chances and Positive Change."

ASCNYC provides paid internships and job-readiness skills development for nearly 100 Peer Educators who deliver community education and health coaching to 14,000 New Yorkers- the equivalent of 19 full-time employees, at an annual savings of over $800,000.

Individuals who complete ASCNYC's peer training program and become ASCNYC Peer Educators experience improved health and wellness: 98 percent have been "clean and sober" for at least one year; 95 percent see their doctors regularly; 79 percent of HIV-positive peers are virally suppressed. ASCNYC has trained more than a thousand individuals to create healthier communities and find gratifying work that pays a living wage.

ASCNYC promotes Positive Change for New Yorkers seeking health, recovery, and a better future as they navigate life with HIV and other chronic health conditions. At ASCNYC, Positive Change takes many forms. We help our clients overcome addiction, access medical care to get their health back on track, escape homelessness, rejoin the world of work, replace isolation with community, and lead healthier and more self-sufficient lives.

For more information about the peer graduation on Nov. 18 or ASCNYC's programs and services, visit http://www.ascnyc.org/