PEER Center News

The Source is a bi-annual magazine published by the AIA Resource Center, an organization dedicated to "helping professionals help families affected by drugs and HIV." The Spring 2010 issue, devoted to peer mentors, includes an article by Janie M. Riley entitled "A Supportive Approach to Supervision for Peers Living with HIV." Janie is a licensed marriage family therapist, clinical supervisor, and consultant to WORLD and the Center for Health Training’s Lotus Project. 

Several staff members from organizations collaborating with the PEER Center have been appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). The council was established to provide policy recommendations on the U.S. Government's response to the AIDS epidemic.

A new module designed to train peers to teach HIV-positive clients about the importance of oral health in their overall care has been incorporated into the Building Blocks to Peer Success toolkit. As a standalone module, the training is intended as a workshop lasting 3 hours and 15 minutes and includes information about the HIV Life Cycle, action of HIV medications, oral health hygiene practices and oral health manifestations of HIV disease.

VOICES 2010, AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families annual conference--to be held May 15-17, 2010 in Crystal City, Virginia, right outside of Washington, DC. is now accepting workshop proposals. There are six main workshop tracks:

• Living Positively
• Care & Treatment
• Quality Improvement
• HIV Prevention
• Policy & Advocacy
• Youth

Deadlline: March 10, 2010

The following two conferences are offering scholarships:

HIV Research Catalyst Forum
April 20-23, 2010
Renaissance Harborplace Hotel
Baltimore, MD

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) announces the availability of FY 2010 funds for grants to deliver peer-to-peer recovery support services that help prevent relapse and promote sustained recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders.

The White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), working with local community host committees, will hold community discussions in the following locations to provide an opportunity for the public to articulate their recommendations to White House staff and other policy makers for the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy:

September 18 is National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day

Friday, September 18 marks the 2nd annual observance of National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (NHAAAD). This year’s NHAAAD theme is “HIV over 50: Get Educated, Get Tested!” The campaign was launched by the AIDS Institute and is part of the National HIV/AIDS Awareness Days supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of HIV/AIDS Policy, and www.aids.gov.

What should our national HIV/AIDS strategy include?

On Monday, Sept. 21, an HIV/AIDS Community Discussion will be held in Washington DC, where members of the public can provide their recommendations for developing a National HIV/AIDS Strategy that will 1) reduce HIV incidence, 2) increase access to care and optimize health outcomes, and 3) reduce HIV-related health disparities.

Date and Time: Monday, September 21, 2009 from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm.

The SISTA Project in the Family Resource Center in Brooklyn, NY is seeking qualified candidates for the following positions:

• 3 female peers, part time, 15 hours per week, stipend position
• 1 peer trainer, full time, BA and background in public health required

If interested, please contact HIV Prevention Education Manager CWard@pfth.org or by phone at 718-875-0027, EXT 207.

The PEER Center and the Peer Education Training Sites are announcing the release of the Building Blocks to Peer Program Success toolkit. This toolkit is a capacity building resource for organizations and communities who desire to develop or enhance peer programs. The toolkit provides a framework to successfully utilize peers to engage and retain people living with HIV/AIDS in care and treatment.

On August 5, the PEER Center and Peer Education Training Sites conducted a Webcast hosted by the HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau on August 5 entitled Training Peers to Support Clients in HIV Care and Treatment.

To access the recording of this Webcast, visit the HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau Web/Audio Conferences page and click the "Recording" button next to the listing for the August 5 Webcast.

Liz Bates, peer advocate at WORLD in Oakland, CA, was recently quoted in the media about the importance of overcoming stigma and getting information about HIV into the community. On July 25, Liz participated in The Real Conversation — Sistahs Getting Real about HIV/AIDS, a seminar in Oakland, CA which explored ways to promote prevention of the virus in the African-American community.

Read Oakland Tribune article: HIV/AIDS still a scourge for African-Americans

 

The Family Resource Center in Brooklyn has two openings for female peers, part time, 15 hours a week. If interested, please contact HIV Prevention Education Manager CWard@pfth.org .

AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families Consumer Leadership Corps Training Program

Application Deadline: August 15, 2009

Sally Neville, RN, MSN, Director of HIV Primary Care at Kansas City Free Health Clinic, will be presenting Building Blocks to Peer Success: Resources for Peer Programs at this year's Association of Nurses in AIDS Care Nov. 19 - 21 in Jacksonville, FL.

View presentation abstract

 

Sally Neville is one of two clinicians who discuss the impact that working with peers has had on their practice in the video "The Power of Peers to Change Lives". 

Staff from the Lotus Project will conduct a workshop entitled "Transitions- Living and Working with HIV. Addressing The Needs Of HIV+ Women Working As Peers" on Friday October 30, 2009, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. at the US Conference on AIDS in San Francisco, which takes place October 29 - 31. The Lotus Project is a collaboration between The Center for Health Training (CHT) and Women Organized to Respond to Life Threatening Disease (WORLD) .

Don't miss the workshop entitled "Building Blocks to Peer Success: A Toolkit for Training HIV Positive Peers" on Friday, October 30, 2009, 10:45 AM - 12:45 PM. PEER Center and Peer Education Training Site staff will conduct an interactive session with several exercises to help participants become acquainted with the toolkit and learn how to use it to develop a training curriculum.

The US Conference on AIDS will take place in San Francisco Oct 29 - 31.

Workshop Abstract

The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) has announced the Recruitment and Retention into Care Program, a national training designed to develop, improve and expand comprehensive services targeting communities severely impacted by HIV/AIDS. The goal of the program is to improve access, quality of care and coordination of health care services for people living with HIV/AIDS who are multiply diagnosed, located in or around rural areas and/or racial ethnic minorities.

There are two trainings scheduled: