HIV/AIDS Services
for Prisoners, Former Prisoners, and Their Families

HIV/AIDS has affected society unlike any other disease in modern times, and most people have been touched in some way by the epldemic.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the prison system. More than one third of all inmates known to be infected with HIV in the United States are held in New York State prisons, where 70,000 men and women are incarcerated. According to recent reports, 18 percent of wornen and 9 percent of men coming into the New York State prison system are HIV positive.

Every year, nearly 25,000 people are released from the New York State prison system. Most of these individuals return to New York City, and it is estimated that more than 3,000 of those released are living with HIV/AIDS.

The Osborne Association has attempted to respond to the AIDS pandemic by providing services both in the prisons, and in the communities to which prisoners return, working with prisoners, former prisoners and their families, in collaboration with New York State (Department of Correctional Services, Department of Health AIDS Institute, and Division of Parole) and community partners.

HIV Services in Prison

Prisons and other correctional institutions are places where information about HIV and AIDS is not always easy to get. People in prison who have AIDS, wonder if they have AIDS, or worry that they can get AIDS often believe they have no place to turn for information, support, or treatment.

The Osborne Association addresses this need by providing HIV services to people in prison and to those released from prison.

AIDS/HIV Hotline for Prisoners

• General HIV/AIDS information

• Referrals for services that may be available within the facility

• Arranging for HIV/AIDS services after release (transitional planning)

• HIVprevention

• Peer counseling and support

• HIV/AIDS treatment

• Advocacy for inmates with special needs related to HIV infection

• Medical parole

Hotline staff also send written information to inmates. All information is confidential. The hotline accepts more than 3,000 collect calls each year and provides a central referral point for HIV-positive prisoners throughout the state. We assist callers in contacting Osborne or other community-based organizations that provide HIV/AIDS services to inmates and parolees.

Prison-Based Services

• HIV counseling and testing

• HIV education for inmates and corrections staff

• Individual and group counseling and support groups

• Transitional planning for HIV-positive inmates being released into the community

HlV Services in the Community

Living-Well
Since 1991, the Osborne Association has been providing HIV and AIDS services to former prisoners and others involved in the criminal justice system through our Living-Well case management program in the South Bronx. We have assisted more than 500 HIV-positive men and women on parole during the last six years.

The Osborne Association provides the following services to parolees, ex-offenders, releasees, and their families:

• Case management

• Assistance with medical benefits and entitlements

• Individual and group counseling

• Assistance in finding and maintaining housng

• Health education

• Assistance in getting off drugs and reducing the harms of using drugs, including the risk of transmitting the AIDS virus

• Assistance in staying off drugs/ relapse prevention

• Acupuncture to improve health, reduce cravings associated with addiction

• Peer support

• Referrals to other services including Osbome's on-site licensed substance abuse treatment program

Legal Services
Osborne's Legal Services Unit is staffed by an attorney, a post-graduate law fellow, a paralegal, and peer workers, who provide client advocacy for civil legal issues to HIV-positive clients of all Osborne programs including immigration, housing court, benefits, and AIDS-related discrimination.

Buddy Program
Clients who successfully complete the Living-Well program can go on to become peer volunteers by enrolling in the Buddy Program. This program allows former clients to assist new clients with adjusting to living with HIV. Volunteer buddies provide peer support, escort clients to appointments, and act as advocates in the community. This program is directed by Osborne's Volunteer Coordinator, who is himself a former client and buddy.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is a Peer?
In the dictionary, peer means "equal." At Osborne, peer also means equal, the same or similar - someone like us, someone who has the same or similar experiences and who can understand us and what we need better than almost anyone else. Usually a former client, usually a former prisoner, usually living with HIV/AIDS, and always ready and willing to extend a hand to someone who could use a hand. Or an ear. Or a heart.

What is Case Management?
The goal of case management is to provide access to services that will allow clients to meet their needs and maintain independence. Case managers and clients, working together, define the clients' needs. Case managers help clients learn to negotiate the health and human services delivery system and assist clients in obtaining services. At Osborne, case management includes frequent counseling, crisis intervention, finding and ensuring that clients receive medical treatment and other services, and an ongoing system of education and support for individuals and their families.

What is Transitional Planning?
Transitional Planning is done with individual meetings between a Transitional Planner from the Osborne Association or other community-based organization and an inmate with HIV/AIDS who is nearing release (within six months of CR or Parole consideration). The Transitional Planner performs an assessment of the inmate's post-release needs and provides a detailed, specific release plan - including gathering needed documents, connecting inmates to supportive services, making necessary medical appointments, etc.

Where is Transitional Planning Available?
The Osborne Association provides transitional planning at Sing Sing, Downstate, Fishkill, Beacon, and Green Haven Correctional Facilities. Other community-based organizations offer transitional planning at other New York State facilities. You may call the Hotline to find out how to contact the transitional planner assigned to any facility.

If I want to refer an inmate to the Hotline, how would I do so?
Any inmate of a New York State correctional facility may reach the Hotline by calling collect: (718) 378-7022 - on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. This number is approved for collect calls by the NYS Department of Correctional Services.

How do I contact Living-Well?
If you have been incarcerated, or are currentlyon parole and are in need of community-based HIV services, please call The Living-Well program (718) 842-0500, Monday through Friday, 9a.m.- 5p.m.

The Osborne Association
HIV/AIDS Services
809 Westchester Avenue
Bronx, NY 10455
718/842-0500
fax: 718/378-7030

HIV Services Director
Joann Casado
jcasado@osborneny.org

Living-Well Program Director
Dicxon Valderruten
Dvalderruten@osborneny.org

AIDS in Prison Program Director
Steven Nesselroth
snesselroth@osborneny.org

Legal Services Unit Managing Attorney
Roland Acevedo
racevedo@osborneny.org

Buddy Program Coordinator
Walter Nieves
wnieves@osborneny.org