African Services Committee, Inc.

<div><ul><li><p>Health Outreach HIV, STD and TB street and community outreach for access to early intervention programs targeting a minimum of 5,000 African refugees and immigrants per year for distribution of multilingual HIV/AIDS prevention and resource materials and condoms throughout the highest HIV sero-prevalence zip codes in all boroughs of NYC. </p> <p>&#183;HIV, STD, Hepatitis B and C and TB Counseling and Testing Through peer interaction between African community health worker and client, we provide pre-test counseling and testing for HIV, STD, and TB for at least 60 targeted African individuals per month. All outreach staff are trained to provide TB prevention education, Mantoux test implantation and reading, follow up for PPD positives, referral to chest clinics, monitoring of attendance at DOT programs and compliance with INH preventive therapy regimens.</p><p>HIV/AIDS Case Management and Counseling. &nbsp;Each month four to five new clients living with HIV/AIDS receive entitlements, access to early medical intervention and legal/immigration services. Supplemental functions are permanency planning for children, bereavement, emergency cash and in-kind assistance (housing, utilities, and furniture emergency cash allowances, transportation vouchers, food pantry, nutritional supplements), and multilingual support groups. Voluntary bilingual partner/contact notification is done with the assistance of case managers for contacts of patients with reportable conditions, such as active tuberculosis, syphilis, and gonorrhea. Case managers also assist HIV-positive African clients considering disclosure of HIV status to sexual contacts.</p> <p>&#183;Medical Interpretation Most of the Health and Hospitals Corporation facilities in the five boroughs of NYC request African Services Committee services for interpretation, culturally-competent case management, legal advocacy and multilingual resource referral materials for their African patients. African Services and each of the linked primary care facilities work in partnership, to provide a full complement of medical and supportive services for HIV, STD, and TB to at least 500 clients per year, regardless of immigration status, insurance coverage, language, literacy, age, gender, or ethnicity </p> <p>Vision Screening Monthly vision screenings open to the community are held at African Services Committee, in collaboration with the Kress Vision Program at New York Downtown Hospital. At least 30 uninsured immigrants are seen at each screening, and provided with corrective lenses and follow-up care as necessary. </p> <p>Child Immunization Infants and children are enrolled in the Child Health Plus insurance program, and obtaining complete immunization and primary care.&nbsp;</p><p>Health programs in Ethiopia serve over 20,000 people per year with HIV and TB testing, treatment, sexual and reproductive health and family planning, pediatric nutrition and HIV case management, micro-lending</p></li></ul></div>

<div>Client Legal Advocacy Legal services provided to African clients with an AIDS diagnosis, who are eligible to adjust immigration status, in order to qualify for DASIS benefits. Screening of political asylum applicants is also provided to prepare cases for intake by the Lawyer&#8217;s Committee for Human Rights, which provides pro bono legal representation for asylum applicants. Immigration and gender-based violence legal services provided to immigrants regardless of HIV status, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality or ethnicity.&nbsp;</div><div> </div>

Housing -- Our HOPWA housing components provide housing placement and cash assistance for emergency housing to one hundred and sixty immigrants with AIDS each year.&nbsp;

English as a Second Language English classes for beginners are offered free of charge to African immigrants three evenings per week.&nbsp;

<p>Our Food and Nutrition Program provides nutrition health education and non-perishable groceries, vitamins, and food coupons to all families in need of supplemental nutrition, and is open to all citizens, residents, immigrants, and asylees, by referral. The program now serves over 3,000 people per year.</p>