September 27 is National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day to help stop HIV stigma and encourage HIV testing, prevention, and treatment among gay and bisexual men. https://bit.ly/2WFYISl #NGMHAAD #StopHIVTogether
Posts Tagged ‘Awareness’
National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
Wednesday, August 10th, 2022Discretely Request Free HIV, STD and Hep C Testing With Our New Online Form
Friday, July 22nd, 2022
HVCS has offered free HIV, STD (STI), and hepatitis C testing for decades. To set up your free tests, all you have to do is contact us!
We offer testing at our offices, at various health fairs and public events across the Hudson Valley, or, if necessary, your home. If that’s not an option, we will meet you in a safe, confidential (mutually agreed upon) space.
Start by providing a few details on our new online request form so we know how best to serve you. Find the form here.
Photos From Our High Score Hijinks Pride Kickoff
Friday, June 3rd, 2022
On Thursday, June 2, 2022, HVCS held a fundraiser and awareness-raiser for our Men’s Services Program and PrEP Program, in honor of Pride Month. Happy Valley, an arcade on Main Street in Beacon, generously donated the space, all quarters played in their classic video games, and proceeds from signature cocktails. We owe them a huge thanks! We appreciate everyone who came out to support us and to kick off the Pride season.
Lesbian Visibility Day – April 26, 2022
Tuesday, April 26th, 2022
From The Division of HIV/STD/HCV Prevention, Office of LGBTQ Services
Para la versión en español, favor hacer clic aquí
| In observance of Lesbian Visibility Day, April 26, please join us in celebrating the lives and achievements of five extraordinary women. As we continue to create safer spaces for all New Yorkers, it’s essential to honor those who have paved the way, despite hardship and adversity, for a more equal and fair society. |
| Barbara Gittings (b. 1932 – Vienna, Austria) Gittings organized the New York Chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis and, in 1965, with Frank Kameny of Washington, D.C., started the July 4 “Annual Reminder Day” pickets at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. She and Kameny also coordinated efforts that led the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, officially affirming that sexual or romantic attraction to others of the same sex is not an illness and cannot be “cured.” Photo credit: Kay Tobin/New York Public Library |
| Ernestine Eckstein (b. 1941 – South Bend, Indiana) Soon after moving from Indiana to New York City in 1963, Eckstein became an active member of the Matachine Society of New York and the NYC chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis, where she served as vice president from 1964 to 1966. In 1965, she picketed at Independence Hall in July and the White House in October, the only Black person at either event. Photo credit: Kay Tobin/New York Public Library |
| Midge Costanza (b. 1932 – Leroy, NY) The first female city councilmember and first woman vice-Mayor of Rochester, Costanza was director of the White House Office of Public Liaison under President Jimmy Carter from January 1977 to September 1978. On March 26, 1977, at the suggestion of Jean O’Leary, Costanza convened a historic White House meeting of fourteen well-known gay rights activists. Photo credit: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration |
| Jean O’Leary (b. 1948 – Kingston, NY) O’Leary was an active member of the Gay Activists Alliance, but after 2 years of growing frustration at the marginalization of women, she led a group of women to form Lesbian Feminist Liberation. Later, from 1976 to 1981, O’Leary was co-executive director with Bruce Voeller of the National Gay Task Force. And in 1988, O’Leary and Rob Eichberg started National Coming Out Day. Photo credit: Cleveland State University Alumni Association |
| Madeline Davis (b. 1940 – Buffalo, NY) After attending the 1971 March on Albany, Davis wrote Stonewall Nation, a folk gay-liberation anthem that got wide play at LGBT events well into the 1980s. In 1972, Davis became the first out lesbian delegate elected to the Democratic National Convention. Her speech calling for the inclusion of gay rights in the party platform can be heard here. In 1994 Davis, with co-author Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy, published Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold, a history of the working-class lesbian community in Buffalo from the 1930s to the early 1960s. Her extensive collection of historical materials are now housed in the Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York at SUNY College at Buffalo. Photo credit: Madeline Davis |
| En conmemoración del Día de Visibilidad Lésbica, el 26 de abril, les invitamos a unirse para celebrar las vidas y logros de cinco extraordinarias mujeres. A la par que continuamos creando lugares más seguros para todas las personas en Nueva York, es esencial rendir honores a quienes han abierto el camino, a pesar de la adversidad y dificultades, para una sociedad más justa y equitativa. |
| Barbara Gittings (Nto. 1932 – Viena, Austria) Gittings organizó el capítulo de Nueva York de la organización “Daughters of Bilitis” y, en 1965, en colaboración con Frank Kameny de Washington DC, comenzó las protestas del 4 de julio denominadas “Annual Reminder Day” en el Salón de la Independencia en Filadelfia. Junto a Kameny también coordinó los esfuerzos que llevaron a la Asociación Americana de Psiquiatría a remover la homosexualidad del Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de los Trastornos Mentales (DSM, por sus siglas en inglés) en 1973. Afirmando oficialmente que la atracción sexual y romántica hacia otras personas del mismo sexo no es una enfermedad y no se puede “curar”. Foto: Kay Tobin/Biblioteca Publica de Nueva York. |
| Ernestine Eckstein (Nto. 1941 – South Bend, Indiana) En 1963, poco tiempo después de mudarse de Indiana a la ciudad de Nueva York, Eckstein se convirtió en una integrante activa de la “Matachine Society” de Nueva York y del capítulo de la ciudad de Nueva York de la organización “Daughters of Bilitis”, donde ejerció como vicepresidenta desde 1964 hasta 1966. En julio de 1965 protestó en el Salón de la Independencia y octubre del mismo año en la Casa Blanca, siendo la única persona de la raza negra en asistir a ambos eventos. Foto: Kay Tobin/Biblioteca Pública de Nueva York |
| Midge Costanza (Nto. 1932 – Leroy, NY) La primera mujer concejal y primera vicealcaldesa de la ciudad de Rochester, Constanza fue directora de la Oficina de Enlace Público de la Casa Blanca bajo la presidencia de Jimmy Carter desde enero de 1977 hasta septiembre de 1978. El 26 de marzo de 1977, motivada por Jean O’Leary, Constanza convocó una histórica reunión en la Casa Blanca con la participación de catorce reconocidas figuras de los derechos gais. Foto: Administración de Registros y Archivos Nacionales de los EE. UU. |
| Jean O’Leary (Nto. 1948 – Kingston, NY) O’Leary fue una integrante activa de la “Gay Activists Alliance”, pero luego de 2 años de frustración por la marginación de las mujeres, lideró un grupo de mujeres que formaron el movimiento “Lesbian Feminist Liberation”. Tiempo después, desde 1976 a 1981, O’Leary fue codirectora ejecutiva junto a Bruce Voeller del “National Gay Task Force”. En 1988, O’Leary y Rob Eichberg comenzaron el Día Nacional de Salir del Clóset Foto: Asociación de Exalumnos de la Universidad de Cleveland |
| Madeline Davis (Nto. 1940 – Buffalo, NY) Luego de participar en la Marcha de 1971 en Albany, Davis escribió “Stonewall |
Health Hub Expands To Dutchess County
Monday, November 15th, 2021
Thanks to a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HVCS is now able to expand its Health Hub services to Dutchess County. The grant is administered by the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute.
The Health Hub works with clients who have an opioid use disorder and provides them with prescriptions for buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone. This medication prevents the feelings of withdrawal without causing a “high.” People who are on Buprenorphine are able to avoid withdrawal, reduce their chances of relapse, and engage in healthier decisions. Clients access a medical professional on a regular basis: in this case, clients will meet with a provider from Cornerstone Family Healthcare via telehealth visits.
The regular contact required by the Buprenorphine prescription also allows staff to gain the client’s trust, address other livestyle issues such as food access, housing, HIV and STI testing, and refer them to any other necessary services.
The Health Hub has operated in Orange and Sullivan counties for many years. We are grateful to be the recipient of these funds so that we can expand a successful program with a proven track record of reducing the harm of opioids on another county in the Hudson Valley.
National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day
Tuesday, April 6th, 2021
Saturday, April 10th is National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day. #NYHAAD reminds us of the importance of investing in young people’s health and education. School-based Health Education provides youth with a safe and supportive environment to learn about HIV prevention.
1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses occurs in young people ages 13-24. This National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day, learn why investing in youth health and education is critical to ending HIV: https://go.usa.gov/xsbyAexternal
Join Us For An Honest Discussion About Sex
Friday, February 5th, 2021
Talk sexual health with Hudson Valley Community Services!
Thursday February 18th at 6:15 p.m.
The program will include a presentation on common STI’s, prevention and harm reduction methods, and methods of safe sex. It will also include a conversation on overall health. After the presentation HVCS will open up the conversation for questions and offer services to anyone who may be interested.
These groups are held in a safe space, are 100% confidential, and are LGBTQ affirming.
Register here: www.rebrand.ly/sexhealth
This event is being conducted with the Newburgh Free Library.
Merger Date With Cornerstone Set for March 1
Tuesday, January 12th, 2021Late last fall, we received word from the New York State Attorney General’s office that our plan to merge with Cornerstone Family Healthcare was approved, without any comments or requested changes to the plan. We have set a merger date of March 1, 2021 for the official merger.
What This Means For Clients:
Clients of HVCS should not see or feel any difference in services once we merge. All services and programs are staying intact and operational. Clients’ case managers and contacts will all remain the same. Our website, phone numbers and email addresses will also be the same, and our physical offices will remain where they are and open the same hours.
The changes for clients are all positive: we will be able to provide clients with more services via direct and active referrals to Cornerstone’s medical, dental, OBGYN, behavioral health and mental health programs. Clients will be able to see medical staff via telemedicine appointments, either from their home or from our offices.*
We have a handy FAQ guide for clients on our website, in English and Spanish.
What This Means For Supporters:
The Hudson Valley Community Services brand will continue, like our website. Our food and toiletry closets, client emergency funds, and fundraising programs will carry on as well. (We hope to bring back some of our fundraising events, too, once the Covid-19 pandemic has eased.) Donations made to HVCS will still be applied to HVCS programs.
What Is Cornerstone?
Cornerstone Family Healthcare (CFH) is a non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center with a mission to provide high quality, comprehensive, primary and preventative health care services in an environment of caring, dignity and respect to all people regardless of their ability to pay. For more than fifty years, Cornerstone has been responsive to meeting the needs of the communities they serve with a continued emphasis on the under-served and those without access to health care–regardless of race, economic status, age, sex, sexual orientation or disability.
Since Cornerstone is also a non-profit, you can choose, in the future, to donate to the entire organization and help even more people access the healthcare they need. Cornerstone serves more than 40,000 people each year!
*All visits are by appointment only, until further notice.
HVCS’ ESAP Explainer Video (Expanded Syringe Access Program)
Monday, November 2nd, 2020HVCS created this video for the New York State “End the Epidemic” campaign.
International Overdose Awareness Day – Video
Thursday, October 1st, 2020On August 21, 2020, HVCS observed International Overdose Awareness Day with a Facebook Live event. Personal experience speakers, community service providers, and HVCS staff all recorded videos for the occasion. We wrapped things up with a Narcan training. This event was sponsored by PCSB.