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Mark your calendar for the 2023 edition of our signature fundraising breakfast, The Most Important Meal!
Please join us at the Fishkill Recreation Center on Route 52 in Fishkill on Sunday, October 22, 2023 for a cereal buffet, fun family activities, raffles, music and a rousing good time.
The Most Important Meal raises funds for our emergency food closet program, which distributed four tons of nonperishable food, toiletries and household cleansers to clients in need in 2022.
Save the date and watch for more news as the season progresses! Visit the Most Important Meal page for more info.
On Monday, May 1, 2023, the New York State Department of Health debuted a new Mpox awareness campaign and health advisory. Cases of Mpox are currently low in our area, but the NYSDOH issued this update to stave off a resurgence during warmer weather. Mpox is spread primarily through personal contact with an infected person, and we all know that personal contact is more likely in summer (temperatures climb, people emerge from their homes, and clothes tend to come off).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also predicts that Mpox cases could resurge because the target populations have low immunity.
Vaccines against Mpox are available. Contact our Mpox Wellness Coaching program for assistance in receiving a two-dose vaccine.
What’s New
New York has added Mpox to its list of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This means that Mpox care, specifically vaccination, is available to adolescents under the age of 18 without requiring parental consent.
Vaccines
The JYNNEOS vaccine is approved by the FDA and requires two doses, administered 28 days apart, in order to be most effective. One dose, though, is better than zero.
Vaccines are recommended for:
Our Mpox Wellness Coaching can connect you with a vaccine provider at Cornerstone Family Healthcare or a Health Department near you.
Post-Exposure Prophylaxis
If you believe you were exposed to Mpox and did not get a vaccine yet, getting the vaccine may prevent you from infection or lessen the severity of symptoms. Act fast! Get a vaccine within 4 days of your exposure may reduce the likelihood of infection. If you get the vaccine between 4- and 14-days post-exposure, it may make your symptoms less.
Our THRIVES and Emily’s Pantry Nutrition Programs serve people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in most Hudson Valley counties. These programs view food as medicine to reduce the risks of dietary-related illnesses like hypertension, high-cholesterol, diabetes, and other health conditions so our clients can begin to or maintain focus on efforts on taking their medications every day. When clients take their meds, they can reach viral suppression and have undetectable viral loads—which helps our entire community, because “Undetectable Equals Untransmittable.”
Last fall, Teresa* relocated from Westchester to Ulster County, and it truly became an all-hands-on-deck effort to ensure she and her spouse (also a PLWHA) were linked to the services they need: Engagement and Supportive Services, Case Management, Transportation, and more. She began attending our monthly nutrition health education sessions just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Teresa has been receiving services at HVCS for 20+ years. She says HVCS “saved my life” and is a safe place to come where she doesn’t feel stigmatized, judged, or helpless. The food we provide in our nutrition programs has been vital to helping ensure that her dietary-related illnesses have been managed and allows her to fill the widening gap between the decreasing SNAP entitlements and her budget. Every month Teresa shares the meal ideas that she and her spouse came up with using the items from the bags we provided. She bravely has tried some new foods (Acorn squash! Quinoa!), with some additional hits and misses along the way.
Since it was winter, we encouraged Teresa to get out of the house, to be physically active, and to connect with other locals who share similar interests. She has tried mall-walking and has recently joined a book club. Most importantly, she has established care with new providers that she is very happy with, and remains undetectable and virally suppressed.
–Case report provided by Lissette Otero, Program Supervisor
*not her real name
Syphilis rates increased 26% in 2021, for a second year in a row, and the “Big Three” STIs (sexually transmitted infections) racked up a record 2.5 million reported cases among Americans. That was at a time when we were supposed to be “socially distancing” and quarantining. COVID-19 was one of several infections that had banner years in 2020 and 2021.
Of course, most STIs are not fatal, except for syphilis if left untreated. Getting and having an STI carries a truckload of shame and stigma, which fuels new infections because the infected patient is less likely to tell a sexual partner of their condition. Another factor in the not-as-bad column: STIs are treatable and curable—except for herpes.
One for the not-so-hot column, though: infection with one STI makes you more susceptible to others, including HIV, which is also potentially fatal if left unmedicated.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, these are the 2021 statistics:
• Chlamydia: 1,628,397 cases – up 3%
• Gonorrhea: 696,764 cases – up 2.8%
• Syphilis: 171,074 cases – a 26% increase, for the highest number of cases in 75 years
• Overall (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis): 2.5 million cases
What is not reflected in these numbers: the Mpox (monkeypox) epidemic, which has exploded in the past two years. HVCS has a dedicated Mpox wellness coaching team ready to answer questions and help clients connect to vaccines.
You may be asking, why are STI rates rising? Condom usage is dropping, spurred by the greater use of PrEP to prevent HIV. More and more of our clients report that they use barrier protection less often since they’re taking PrEP pills. While safer from HIV, those who go condom-less risk exposing themselves to STIs.
Scientists also posit that the ongoing opioid and meth epidemics are leading to more HIV and Hepatitis C infections among people who share needles, and the spread of other STIs as user trade drugs for sex that is often unprotected.
Leandro Mena, the director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, was quoted by POLITICO: “Over two decades of level funding, when you account for inflation and population changes, have effectively decreased the buying power of public health dollars and resulted in the reduction of STI services at the local level. That reduction in screening, treatment and partner services likely contributed to these STI increases.”
April is National STI Awareness Month. We’re using this opportunity to call attention to our free STI testing services, available to anyone who doesn’t know their STI status. The best way to reverse the rise of STI rates is to increase knowledge of infection rates—knowledge really is power! To set up your appointment, visit our Testing Request page.
An anonymous HVCS employee’s remembrance in observance of STI Awareness Month
During my junior year of college, I worked off campus at a big-box retail store with a closeted guy named Orin*. We occasionally but infrequently hooked up, usually at his apartment. One night my roommate was away, and I invited Orin back to my dorm room for a hook-up. I usually had a stash of condoms, but I was out that night—so we both shrugged and threw caution to the wind. As we had had sex before, I thought, “I didn’t catch anything last time, and he looks healthy.” Never mind that “last time” was a few months ago, and it was almost pitch-black in my room.
Within a few days, urinating felt like a shower of needles. It was a sharp, tingly pain that made me dread the next bathroom break. I powered on through classes and work, determined to ignore the slivers of agony and refusing to admit that I’d made a mistake. I also avoided Orin, though I wanted to demand, “What did you do to me? Aren’t you feeling this pain too?”
I traveled to Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with my family. The burning in my urethra started to linger long after urinating, and I struggled to stay in “celebratory holiday mode” as the weekend dragged on. We had lunch at a fish n chips restaurant that was touted as a favorite among locals for its fresh catches. Within hours, I hovered over the toilet bowl, returning the meal, and a lot of other stuff, to the sea. I spent the rest of the holiday in my brother’s bed, shivering, in growing groin agony, popping Tylenol to lower my fever in between trips to the bathroom to puke. My sister-in-law endured the same symptoms, camped out in a spare bedroom. Mom’s verdict: food poisoning. For me, it was all coming out the top—and nothing, absolutely nothing, was coming out the bottom.
By Sunday when I returned to campus, my fever had abated but what I strongly suspected to be a sexually transmitted infection continued with a fury. I imagined my bladder swollen and red, angered by some tiny spirochete armed with a sword of ice. My intestines felt hard to the touch, and I had no interest in food of any kind. (Younger me also was blind to basic over-the-counter constipation remedies, for some reason.) My birthday falls soon after Thanksgiving, and I turned down all invitations to celebrate it at the local nightclub.
Later that week during my evening shift, I finally felt something happening in my nether regions. Warm liquid blossomed in my underwear, and I dashed to the restroom. It turned out to be a small amount, but it was red: I had bled and it had soaked through onto my jeans. Completely humiliated, I tied an apron around me, backwards, and fought with my boss to leave early. When he objected strongly, I told him the truth: I had a blood stain on my pants—“Don’t make me show you.” He let me leave.
Finally, I was ready to go to the Student Health office. The regular doctor, whom I’d been to a few times over the years, was out, and a substitute provider was filling in. Now gripped with double the embarrassment of having to admit my mistake to a stranger, I told my story. “Well, sounds like an STD,” she said. “I’ll have to do a culture to be sure.” Obtaining a culture (back then)** involved many men’s worst nightmare: a swab up the urethra for a scraping. I endured this humiliation, zipped up, and went back to my dorm to wait for the test results.
The sub doctor called the next morning, and in essence she said: “You tested negative. Whatever you’re feeling is probably from the food poisoning and should go away soon.” End of call. I soldiered on through the week, steeled against the pain and discomfort. My bowels felt impacted—wasn’t food poisoning supposed to clear everything out?
On Monday morning, I got a call from the usual campus doctor. “I reviewed notes on the cases that came in while I was out, and yours stood out. Can you come over right now?” When I sat on the exam table, she said, “I think my sub was wrong. I think you do have an STD. I don’t know what she did wrong with the culture, but all your symptoms point to an STD. The burning when you pee, the constipation. You have a case of anal gonorrhea. Here’s a prescription for azithromycin.”
Within a day of taking the antibiotic, the burning sensation faded. The constipation took longer to resolve, but it did go away eventually. A friend with a keen eye spotted the medicine bottle on my dresser and asked about it, and I finally confessed: I had unprotected sex. He let loose a torrent of disappointment, admonishment, and concern. “You know better than that. Of all people, you? For a one night stand?” I explained that it wasn’t a one-nighter per se, which didn’t help my case. “I hope it’s a never again,” he said. “Did the doctor order an HIV test? No? Well, you need to get one ASAP.”
A few nights later, I wound up closing the store with Orin, and I finally worked up the nerve to say, “You gave me gonorrhea.” He wrinkled his nose and said, “It wasn’t from me. I feel fine.” Which makes perfect sense when you learn that many men with STDs are asymptomatic. I pushed back, stating that he had been my only sexual partner in the past month. He kept denying it. “Get tested,” I advised.
After two weeks of suffering, mixed with a case of food poisoning, a wrong medical diagnosis, an excruciating outing to my boss, and a missed birthday, I resolved to use condoms for every sexual encounter. I took an entire class on AIDS issues to understand better the science behind transmission and risk. That class led me to volunteering for HVCS. After I graduated, that volunteer work turned into a paid job.
All the literature and articles say, “it only takes one condomless encounter,” and while mine wasn’t technically “just one” with the same guy, the risk was certainly there. The HIV test came back negative, and from that point on, for at least a decade, I sero-sortied: only sleeping with men who were HIV-negative. There wasn’t, and still isn’t, a realistic way to sero-sort STD status, since it’s so hard to know if, and when, you have an STD.
Looking back now, I wish I could say I “slipped up” on safer sex for burning passion, or drunken abandon, or some other (ultimately meaningless) excuse, but the truth was, changing the plan in favor of safer, non-penetrative acts was simply inconvenient. I didn’t have a great reason, other than laziness. The sheer stupidity of that (I’m allowed to call my actions stupid, aren’t I?) gave me insight into how others cope with the specter of HIV and other STDs. There are so many possible reasons for forgoing a condom: it’s very difficult for disease prevention programs, like those at HVCS, to give clients a road map to navigate all of those scenarios. With STIs (the more modern term for STDs) on the rise, empowering clients to be self-advocates for their sexual health is likely the best defense. Arm up with the facts—and take this post as a cautionary tale I hope you never have to experience for yourself.
*Name changed to protect the closeted.
** Today’s STI tests use a blood or urine sample.
Per NPR:
The overdose-reversing drug Narcan could soon be available to buy over the counter without a prescription, the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday.
The FDA’s approval of the nasal spray Narcan — the brand name for the drug naloxone — means the medication could be more widely available across the U.S. as the country continues to grapple with an opioid epidemic.
“Today’s action paves the way for the life-saving medication to reverse an opioid overdose to be sold directly to consumers in places like drug stores, convenience stores, grocery stores and gas stations, as well as online,” the FDA said in a statement.
Emergent BioSolutions, the drug company that produces Narcan, said on Wednesday that it hoped to make the nasal spray available on store shelves and at online retailers by late summer. It did not immediately say how much it would cost.
HVCS offers free Narcan trainings and kits. Talk to our Health Hub program for more information on free trainings near you.
“Today’s landmark FDA OTC approval for Narcan Nasal Spray marks a historic milestone as we have delivered on our commitment to make this important emergency treatment widely accessible, given the alarming rates of opioid overdoses occurring across the country,” Emergent BioSolutions CEO Robert G. Kramer said in a statement.
Some states and harm-reduction groups have offered naloxone for free to residents. But typically those who wanted to buy Narcan had to obtain it at a pharmacy with a prescription.
Public health experts, harm-reduction advocates and many politicians have argued that those barriers meant fewer people would get the life-saving medication they needed in time.
The FDA approval comes as the U.S. continues to see a staggering number of opioid-related deaths, driven in large part by the spread of synthetic opioids such as illicit fentanyl.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 101,751 reported fatal overdoses in the 12-month period ending in October.
“We can prevent overdoses and save lives by making naloxone more accessible, and at the same time, we can ensure equitable access to essential health care,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
The specific dose approved for over-the-counter sales is the 4 milligram (mg) naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray. Other formulations and dosages of the drug would still require a prescription, the FDA said.
The administration first approved Narcan nasal spray in 2015 as a prescription drug.
Tina Burner, who rose to international fame after appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13, comes to the Hudson Valley in support of our programs and services! Electro Brunch is coming up on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at noon at The Academy HVNY. Our annual drag brunch raises funds for programs like HIV/AIDS prevention, harm reduction and emergency food pantries. We’ve partnered with Out Loud Hudson Valley to completely revamp our event, with a new venue and a much larger audience!
Tickets are $35 and table of up to 10 are available. Please note: Tickets are for admission to the fabulous show… The Academy’s brunch buffet with mimosas is an additional $40, and other beverages will be sold separately.
Hurry! Tickets are going very fast. Get yours at: https://tinyurl.com/HVCSdragbrunch
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#dragbrunch#charitybrunch#fundraiser#poughkeepsie
Where can you enjoy an appearance by an internationally famous drag queen, a spectacular brunch, a full bar, and help your neighbors in need? At the HVCS Electro Brunch, that’s where!
We’ve partnered with Out Loud Hudson Valley to amp up our annual drag brunch to the next level. Join Tina Burner from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 at the Academy in Poughkeepsie on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at Noon. Tickets are $35.00 and proceeds benefit HVCS’ programs, such as our HIV/AIDS education services and our emergency food closets.
The Academy, Poughkeepsie’s hottest dining destination, will offer their new brunch menu, signature cocktails, and full bar (meals and beverages must be purchased separately). You’ll also have the chance to enter to win fabulous prizes in our raffles and games.
Purchase your tickets today at Eventbrite. For more information, visit www.hudsonvalleycs.org/drag or call (845) 787-1789.
“Safer Choices” Campaign Designed to Promote Tools and Knowledge to Reduce Overdose Deaths in New York
ALBANY, N.Y. (February 9, 2023) – The New York State Department of Health today announced the launch of a new harm reduction campaign, “Safer Choices,” to help prevent overdose deaths across New York. The multi-media campaign, starting with a focus on social media platforms and web-based resources, is meant to equip individuals with an understanding of how to reduce overdose, as deadly fentanyl continues to be found in a wide variety of drugs. The campaign also continues to emphasize the importance of naloxone as a life-saving tool in the event of an overdose.
“To help reduce the number of overdose deaths across the state, we need to make sure people who use drugs, and their family members and friends, know how to reduce the risk of overdose and how to respond should an overdose occur,” Acting State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. “This new campaign will not only save lives, but it will also serve to help reduce the bias and discrimination associated with a substance use disorder diagnosis.”
The campaign shares helpful information and steps for family members, friends, and persons who use drugs. Tips for family members and friends strongly recommending carrying naloxone in case they witness an overdose, as well as information about Opioid Overdose Training programs across the state and about the Naloxone Co-payment Assistance Program (N-CAP), which can cover co-payments for naloxone of up to $40.
These important messages focus on other life-saving steps that can be taken, which include testing drugs for fentanyl contamination. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than heroin, has been found in powder cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, molly/MDMA, counterfeit Xanax, other pills, and powder sold as heroin. In addition, the campaign advises individuals to never use opioids and other drugs alone, and to know that, in case of an overdose, calling 911 will not result in a possession charge. Persons who use drugs are also encouraged to carry naloxone and know how to administer this life-saving drug.
More information about the new harm reduction campaign can be found at https://www.health.ny.gov/saferchoices.
This latest campaign builds on the Department’s ongoing work to support a variety of harm reduction initiatives. Other programs include the Local Health Department Initiative, providing funding to 24 county health departments with the highest overdose rates outside of New York City to bolster primary care, corrections, harm reduction, emergency departments, public safety, and more; over 900 registered Opioid Overdose Prevention Programs, which provide training to non-medical individuals to recognize opioid overdoses and provide naloxone at no cost to the participant. The Department also operates New York MATTERS, an electronic referral system for connecting individuals with opioid use disorder to local treatment and harm reduction services.
Additionally, the State has authorized 25 Syringe Exchange Programs (SEPs) with over 81 sites statewide. SEPs remain at the forefront of innovation in addressing the needs of New Yorkers who use drugs and lead in the distribution of naloxone to New Yorkers vulnerable to overdose. The State’s 14 Drug User Health Hubs have been built upon the long-standing foundation of SEPs. These Hubs focus on reducing overdose by providing access to buprenorphine, building safety plans with people who have experienced a non-fatal overdose and equipping participants with naloxone.
Governor Hochul’s administration also recently announced more than $8.6 million for innovative programs to treat opioid addiction through grants awarded through New York State’s Opioid Settlement Fund.
People with question or requests for additional information should visit https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/opioid/
Information on where to find nearby Syringe Exchange Program site locations can be found here.
New Yorkers struggling with an addiction, or whose loved ones are struggling, can find help and hope by calling the state’s toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369) or by texting HOPENY (Short Code 467369).
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Contact: New York State Department of Health
518-474-2043 x. 2
New York State Department of Health Launches New Harm Reduction Campaign to Help Reduce Overdoses
“Safer Choices” Campaign Designed to Promote Tools and Knowledge to Reduce Overdose Deaths in New York
ALBANY, N.Y. (February 9, 2023) – The New York State Department of Health today announced the launch of a new harm reduction campaign, “Safer Choices,” to help prevent overdose deaths across New York. The multi-media campaign, starting with a focus on social media platforms and web-based resources, is meant to equip individuals with an understanding of how to reduce overdose, as deadly fentanyl continues to be found in a wide variety of drugs. The campaign also continues to emphasize the importance of naloxone as a life-saving tool in the event of an overdose.
“To help reduce the number of overdose deaths across the state, we need to make sure people who use drugs, and their family members and friends, know how to reduce the risk of overdose and how to respond should an overdose occur,” Acting State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. “This new campaign will not only save lives, but it will also serve to help reduce the bias and discrimination associated with a substance use disorder diagnosis.”
The campaign shares helpful information and steps for family members, friends, and persons who use drugs. Tips for family members and friends strongly recommending carrying naloxone in case they witness an overdose, as well as information about Opioid Overdose Training programs across the state and about the Naloxone Co-payment Assistance Program (N-CAP), which can cover co-payments for naloxone of up to $40.
These important messages focus on other life-saving steps that can be taken, which include testing drugs for fentanyl contamination. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than heroin, has been found in powder cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, molly/MDMA, counterfeit Xanax, other pills, and powder sold as heroin. In addition, the campaign advises individuals to never use opioids and other drugs alone, and to know that, in case of an overdose, calling 911 will not result in a possession charge. Persons who use drugs are also encouraged to carry naloxone and know how to administer this life-saving drug.
More information about the new harm reduction campaign can be found at https://www.health.ny.gov/saferchoices.
This latest campaign builds on the Department’s ongoing work to support a variety of harm reduction initiatives. Other programs include the Local Health Department Initiative, providing funding to 24 county health departments with the highest overdose rates outside of New York City to bolster primary care, corrections, harm reduction, emergency departments, public safety, and more; over 900 registered Opioid Overdose Prevention Programs, which provide training to non-medical individuals to recognize opioid overdoses and provide naloxone at no cost to the participant. The Department also operates New York MATTERS, an electronic referral system for connecting individuals with opioid use disorder to local treatment and harm reduction services.
Additionally, the State has authorized 25 Syringe Exchange Programs (SEPs) with over 81 sites statewide. SEPs remain at the forefront of innovation in addressing the needs of New Yorkers who use drugs and lead in the distribution of naloxone to New Yorkers vulnerable to overdose. The State’s 14 Drug User Health Hubs have been built upon the long-standing foundation of SEPs. These Hubs focus on reducing overdose by providing access to buprenorphine, building safety plans with people who have experienced a non-fatal overdose and equipping participants with naloxone.
Governor Hochul’s administration also recently announced more than $8.6 million for innovative programs to treat opioid addiction through grants awarded through New York State’s Opioid Settlement Fund.
People with question or requests for additional information should visit https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/opioid/
Information on where to find nearby Syringe Exchange Program site locations can be found here.
New Yorkers struggling with an addiction, or whose loved ones are struggling, can find help and hope by calling the state’s toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369) or by texting HOPENY (Short Code 467369).
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Contact: New York State Department of Health
518-474-2043 x. 2