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Peer educators review teaching tools and intervention techniquesjjj
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HIV Counseling and Testing
The Womens Collective encourages all women to get tested for HIV. The fact that statistics show an increase in the proportion of AIDS cases among women (from 11% in 1990 to 31% in 2000) underscores our point. The importance of knowing your HIV status is stressed in each outreach encounter. We believe that early detection of HIV infection is extremely important. This allows women to get into care and treatment early, when it is most beneficial.
Through a collaborative agreement with Us Helping Us, the Womens collective provides HIV Counseling and testing services every day of the week:
- CDC trained HIV Prevention counselor on staff;
- Oral testing used (OraSure) Ð No Needles;
- The Womens Collective is the only women-focused testing facility;
- Testing is free of charge;
- Tokens and gift certificates available for clients;
- On site case-management and advocacy services for women who test positive and
- On site prevention case-management and advocacy services for women who test negative.
Although women are encouraged to call for an appointment, no one who walks in is turned away.
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PWA's on staff provide support in a compassionate environment tailored to the needs of women.
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Training and Technical Assistance
The Womens Collective provides training and technical assistance to organizations, social service agencies and coalitions locally, nationally and internationally that want to develop or enhance their prevention services to better serve women and children. We conduct presentations for a wide range of agencies, organizations and community groups in an effort to increase the knowledge base prevention skills and sense of empowerment of those who attend. Presentation sites have included schools, sororities, shelters, community organizations, church groups, substance abuse treatment centers and others. Presentations are also made to various agencies that serve women and wish to enhance or refine their programs or explore new approaches to service delivery. These presentations may take place at national conferences, international forums or at a variety of public community meetings. We also provide training for other peer education programs and outreach programs targeting women.
In addition, training is provided for medical staff and other staff members of shelters and substance abuse treatment facilities. The collaborations we establish with other organizations are always voluntary and are designed to benefit both agencies and the public optimally.
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Sisters Helping Sisters to Survive
The Womens Collectives first HIV prevention program is entitled Sisters Helping Sisters to Survive (SHSS). It was started in January of 2001. The goals of the project are to:
- Educate women about safer sex and empowerment;
- Provide safer sex tools;
- Encourage HIV testing among women and
- Help positive women receive care.
Like all programs of The Womens Collective, the Sisters Helping Sisters to Survive program is peer-based program. In keeping with the general philosophy of The Womens Collective we recognize that the women we serve are our best teachers. They have witnessed the impact of the epidemic on their own neighborhoods and have a lot of insight about how prevention efforts should be undertaken. Peer education is a method proven to be effective because those being trained to deliver information are already competent about the culture as well as the needs of their communities.
The services offered by the SHSS program are as follows:
Venue Based Outreach: In this important aspect of prevention work peer educators conduct outreach in various settings where women gather. These include beauty and nail salons, supermarkets, schools, tenants meetings, PTA meetings, shelters, substance abuse treatment facilities, social events, home parties, nightclubs and any other place where groups of women might be found. Additionally, outreach is performed at large events, conferences and health fairs held in parks, at convention centers and hotels. We also cover small community-based events held at churches and other community organizations. These venues offer us an opportunity to meet women of their own territory and share prevention messages in a non-threatening setting.
Street Outreach: Street outreach is another highly effective approach used by the SHSS project. Women are approached by peer educators while walking or shopping in commercial centers and other high traffic areas. Locations are chosen by the amount of activity and the type of activity that occurs there as well as the population that frequents the area. All neighborhoods where women of color reside or frequent are targeted. Additionally, outreach takes place during more active or busy times of day in order to maximize peer efforts. Neighborhood Òhot spotsÓ-areas of open drug activity or commercial sex work- are identified by peer educators and specifically targeted as well.
Presentations/Workshops: The SHSS program provides workshops and presentations on HIV/AIDS prevention for community organizations that request it. Peer educators strive to build relationships with community leaders such as pastors, resident council members, students, etc. These community gatekeepers possess valuable knowledge of the needs of local women and can help us shape our presentations appropriately, so that they are as beneficial as possible.
Group Level Intervention: This service entails delivering prevention information to women in a group setting. These can occur at a variety of venues, including the Womens Collectives meeting space. Groups meet for 4-12 sessions, depending upon the needs of the population. Women attending these groups make a commitment to attend as many of the sessions as possible in order to bond with the other members. Food and child care are always provided. Topics discussed include HIV 101, self-esteem, partner negotiation skills, STDs, substance abuse, stress reduction and others. Group sessions are aimed at skills-building and support members in adopting safer behaviors in order to prevent HIV infection or remain as well as possible if HIV infected.
Individual Level Intervention: For those times when a brief outreach encounter is not enough, the SHSS Peers provide extended HIV prevention counseling sessions. These counseling sessions last 15 minutes or more and are centered on addressing the clients immediate HIV prevention needs or concerns. Matters may arise that are not directly related to HIV but still have an impact on the clients sense of safety, security or empowerment. Once identified by way of the counseling session, clients with these kinds of concerns can be referred to the Womens Collective for Prevention Case Management. As PCM clients they can receive ongoing assistance with these issues as well as continued HIV/AIDS prevention counseling.
Prevention Case Management
The Womens Collective has a full time Prevention case manager on staff to assist in adopting risk reduction behaviors. Each PCM client is given individualized multiple-session HIV risk-reduction counseling. PCM is designed for women who have or are likely to have difficulty beginning or maintaining safer behaviors. This may be due to more pressing concerns such as housing needs, addiction domestic violence, mental health issues or others. One of the goals of the Womens Collectives PCM program address these needs so that HIV/AIDS risk reduction can become a priority. Ongoing support is then provided as women begin to make behavior changes. Our approach remains non-judgmental whether a woman makes major changes or small, incremental ones.
PCM is an extremely important addition to womens collective programs because it allows us to provide support to women whose ongoing HIV prevention needs might otherwise be unmet.
The Women's Collective Approach
Woman-focused: The Womens Collective chose to focus its resources on serving women because of a need to fill a very wide gap in services. Prevention services targeting women were urgently needed because the fasted growing number of new AIDS cases is among women. Most organizations aimed their efforts at men and women but the model on which services were based was primarily male. The Womens Collective model takes in to account that the needs of women may be different from those of other populations. As women of color we are also sensitive to the various cultural nuances of African-American, Caribbean, Latina and African Women.
Peer-based: All programs of the Womens Collective are run by women who come from the same or similar backgrounds as the women we serve. We are an all female staff, some of whom are women living with HIV. In our experience women at risk and women living with HIV are often more comfortable receiving services from members of their own group. Therefore our access advocates who assist newly diagnosed women with obtaining services are also women living with HIV, and peer educators conducting outreach are women who have been at risk or are living with HIV.
Family-centered: In addition to being peer-based and woman-focused, all Womens Collective programs including prevention are family-centered. This means that child care is available during all prevention related groups and other meetings and while women receive HIV counseling and testing services and PCM services etc. Counseling and support for children and family members of our clients is provided as necessary. Families of the women we serve are also invited to participate in special events sponsored by the collective, such as the holiday party, and the annual African-American Walk for Life fundraiser. We recognize that women exist as part of a family unit that often needs services and support as well. Supporting the family is another way of supporting the woman.
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