African Services Committee, Inc.

Causes: Civil Rights, Ethnic & Immigrant Centers, Health, Human Services, Immigration, Public Health

Mission:

African Services Committee is a non-profit organization dedicated toimproving the health and self-sufficiency of the African community in New YorkCity and Ethiopia.

Target demographics: African & Caribbean Immigrants in the New York City area

Direct beneficiaries per year: 12,000 (New York), 50,000+ (Ethiopia)

Geographic areas served: New York City, Ethiopia (5 clinics)

Programs:

•          Health Outreach HIV, STD and TB street and community outreach foraccess to early intervention programs targeting a minimum of 5,000 Africanrefugees and immigrants per year for distribution of multilingual HIV/AIDSprevention and resource materials and condoms throughout the highest HIV sero-prevalencezip codes in all boroughs of NYC.

  ·        HIV, STD, and TB Counseling and Testing Through peer interactionbetween African community health worker and client, we provide pre-testcounseling and testing for HIV, STD, and TB for at least 60 targeted Africanindividuals per month. All outreach staff are trained to provide TB preventioneducation, Mantoux test implantation and reading, follow up for PPD positives,referral to chest clinics, monitoring of attendance at DOT programs andcompliance with INH preventive therapy regimens.

  ·        HIV/AIDS Case Management and Counseling Each month four to fivenew clients living with HIV/AIDS receive entitlements, access to early medicalintervention and legal/immigration services. Supplemental functions arepermanency planning for children, bereavement, emergency cash and in-kindassistance (housing, utilities, and furniture emergency cash allowances,transportation vouchers, food pantry, nutritional supplements), andmultilingual support groups. Voluntary bilingual partner/contact notificationis done with the assistance of case managers for contacts of patients withreportable conditions, such as active tuberculosis, syphilis, and gonorrhea.Case managers also assist HIV-positive African clients considering disclosureof HIV status to sexual contacts.

  ·        Medical Interpretation Most of the Health and HospitalsCorporation facilities in the five boroughs of NYC request African ServicesCommittee services for interpretation, culturally-competent case management,legal advocacy and multilingual resource referral materials for their Africanpatients. African Services and each of the linked primary care facilities workin partnership, to provide a full complement of medical and supportive servicesfor HIV, STD, and TB to at least 500 clients per year, regardless ofimmigration status, insurance coverage, language, literacy, age, gender, orethnicity

  ·        Vision Screening Monthly vision screenings open to the communityare held at African Services Committee, in collaboration with the Kress VisionProgram at New York Downtown Hospital. At least 30 uninsured immigrants areseen at each screening, and provided with corrective lenses and follow-up careas necessary.

  ·        Child Immunization Infants and children are enrolled in the ChildHealth Plus insurance program, and obtaining complete immunization and primarycare.