Founded and sponsored by NCADD, Alcohol Awareness Month was established in 1987 to help reduce the stigma so often associated with alcoholism by encouraging communities to reach out to the American public each April with information about alcohol, alcoholism and recovery. Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive disease, genetically predisposed and fatal if untreated. However people can and do recover. In fact, it is estimated that as many as 20 million individuals and family members are living lives in recovery!
HVCS’ Syringe Exchange Program (SEP) is pleased to announced that it now serves Sullivan and Ulster counties, in addition to Dutchess and Orange. The New York State Department of Health’s Harm Reduction Unit recently approved our plan to expand our successful syringe exchange van program to Kingston and Monticello.
The discrete SEP van will be located in Kingston at Elmendorf Street between Broadway and Tremper Avenue on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:00 am to 12 noon and 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.
The van will also operate in Monticello on Mondays and Fridays from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm, but interested clients and referring agencies must call (845) 476-2190 OR (845) 234-5225 for location.
The SEP program has kept thousands of used syringes off of the streets and out of the Poughkeepsie and Newburgh communities thus far. Program staff regularly offer trainings on the overdose prevention drug Narcan/Naloxone, and have saved several lives. Staffers estimate that the clients they have trained to administer Narcan themselves revive between three and five overdosing peers each month.
For more information on SEP, please call (845) 476-2190 or (845) 234-5225.
In case you missed this week’s big news from Albany, Gov. Cuomo announced that estimates of new HIV infections for 2014 show a decrease of 41% from 2006. Estimated new HIV infections were fewer than 2,500 for the first time. The estimated HIV incidence rate (that is, the rate of people living with HIV, per 10,000 residents) fell 43% since 2006.
New estimates also report that 123,000 New Yorkers live with HIV, as of the end of 2014. About 10,000 do not yet know they are HIV-positive (8%). While this is good news overall, the report also estimates that only 62% of HIVers are virally suppressed (they have an undetectable viral load) and are, theoretically, incapable of infecting others. NYS would like to increase this percentage while continuing to decrease new infections to less than 750 per year by 2020.
Gov. Cuomo also announced an additional $4 million in funding to spread awareness of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). The NYS Department of Health unveiled new videos to educate the public about PrEP and a new website, PrEPforSex.org.
Infectious syphilis is increasing in New York State, with a 13% increase in New York City and a 44% increase in upstate New York between 2013 and 2014. In many areas, the number of cases has more than doubled in this period. The highest burden of cases is seen in New York City and surrounding counties (which would include the Hudson Valley). Cases are mainly among males, especially gay men and men who have sex with men.
We encourage everyone to be aware of the risk factors, signs, and symptoms of syphilis. Having unprotected sex, multiple sex partners, or a new sex partner can all increase the risk of syphilis infection, as well as other STI’s and HIV.To learn more about syphilis, visit our RPI team or http://bit.ly/NYSDOHSyph. Call (845) 471-0707 x12 to schedule a test, or stop in at one of our testing events. You can also check out the basics on our website.
Newly diagnosed with HIV? Or do you have questions about what it’s like to live with HIV? Check out Gilead Science’s new “HIV Answers” app for iPhone and Google. Designed for newly diagnosed HIV+ people, the app leads you through a series of questions to answer your immediate questions and connects you with any services you might need…and if you’re not ready to connect to services or help, the app provides more information about your current HIV status.
Plus, the app is password-protected and shows up in your app list with a discrete icon, so no one has to know what you’re researching.
You can download it from your phone’s app store, or visit www.hivanswers.com.
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If you’re looking for a short, simple way to describe HIV infection to someone newly diagnosed with HIV, check out Gilead’s “Help Stop the Virus” series on YouTube. “You may look fine. You may feel fine. But the virus is working away, causing harm to the body. That’s the trick HIV plays. Watch this video to see what HIV does and how treatment can help.”
Tags: HIV, treatment Posted in News | Comments Off on “Help Stop the Virus” Videos: Easy to Understand Education Video for Newly Diagnosed Clients
