Program Services

The Alliance for Positive Health offers care/case management for those living with HIV/AIDS or other chronic illnesses and need assistance to regularly access medical and support services. Care/case managers assess an individual's needs to assist with obtaining and engaging in medical care, and provide referrals to services. Care managers are trained to address the unique challenges of those we serve including LGBT individuals, rural communities, families, women, and people living in poverty. 

The Alliance for Positive Health’s CJI program focuses on providing resources and services to inmates currently incarcerated in designated New York State Correctional Facilities. With the goal of preventing new HIV infections, CJI staff members educate inmates on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and offer referrals to reentry services to those returning to the Capital District. CJI Linkage Specialists provide linkage and navigation services to HIV-positive inmates to ensure and support linkage to medical care and other needed services with the goals of viral suppression and increased health literacy. 

Food4Life is a nutrition education program for HIV+ individuals that enables them to practice maintaining a healthy diet, learn to cook meals appropriate for their health needs, shop for food on a budget and link to community food resources. Participants receive a nutritional assessment, set dietary goals and receive food pantry bags, food vouchers and incentives based on their level of need. 

Opioid abuse is on the rise throughout New York State, bringing with it HIV and HCV transmission, and death by overdose. To curve these trends, the Alliance for Positive Health started a Syringe Exchange Program, Project Exchange. Established in June 2015, Project Exchange provides new sterile syringes and other injection supplies, safe disposal of used syringes, and opioid overdose prevention. 

The Health Insurance Access Program (HIAP) assists individuals with enrollment into comprehensive health insurance plans, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the New York State of Health Marketplace. We also have specialists who assist HIV+ individuals to access specific insurance programs to assist with costly medical care and prescriptions, and our PrEP specialist is trained to assist with the various insurance options to pay for PrEP. Our Outreach Specialists or Health Navigators help individuals to assess their insurance needs and enroll in appropriate networks. 

The Alliance for Positive Health provides a robust continuum of community-based free, confidential HIV, STI and HCV testing for those who are at high risk and do not access testing from their medical provider. We utilize rapid HIV, HCV and syphilis screens with preliminary results during the test counseling session. We confirm reactive results with testing through blood draws with several days for turnaround. We also provide urine screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea with results in a few days. During test counseling sessions, staff assist clients to assess their risk, decide which testing is needed, and develop risk reduction plans to reduce becoming infected or transmitting infections to others if results are positive. Individuals also have the opportunity to learn about or get immediately linked to other Alliance for Positive Health services if other needs are identified through this discussion. 

Having housing is crucial to getting and staying healthy. We provide a variety of services to help people with HIV who are homeless, at risk of being homeless, or unstably housed maintain safe and affordable housing, while also preventing eviction and utility shut off. Housing Retention Specialists assist individuals establish and maintain housing stability and develop the skills necessary to remain in stable housing and live independently, thus increasing positive health outcomes.

Alliance for Positive Health is a comprehensive health resource for our region's LGBT+ community. Our LGBT+ Health programs address multiple factors that impact an individual's well-being including stigma, access to LGBT+ friendly resources, communication with partners and providers, and sexual health. 

Link2Care helps individuals with or at risk for HIV and Hepatitis C get and stay in medical care, access PrEP, address barriers, and navigate complex systems in order to access health and support services. Link2Care uses a team approach with Peer Navigators who are reflective of the target population and staff to increase access to services. 

The Alliance for Positive Health’s Peer Workforce program provides services designed to help address clients’ internal and external barriers to achieving positive health outcomes by offering guidance, encouragement and hope from team members whose role it is to share their own lived experience with clients.

PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a way that HIV negative individuals can greatly reduce the risk of HIV infection by taking daily anti-retroviral medications. The Alliance for Positive Health's Project HOPE has a PrEP Assistance Program for those seeking more information and access to PrEP. 

Real Talk is a youth-driven prevention initiative which utilizes technology to assist primarily urban, Black and Latino teens (ages 13-17) in reducing their risk for HIV/AIDS, STIs, unplanned pregnancy, and substance use. Through various technology-based projects like videos, photography, memes, digital media, music and more, teens design and share messages and stories intended to help their friends, family and other high-risk teens change their risk behaviors. 

Substance Users are at increased risk for HIV, Hepatitis and other illnesses and are less likely to engage in ongoing medical care. Our Substance Use Referral Specialists facilitate referrals to treatment services for active substance users, offer treatment readiness counseling, work with rehab facilities to increase access to outpatient treatment as part of the individualized after care-plan, and address many of the barriers to treatment such as insurance and transportation. SURS also provides on-site HIV, Hepatitis C, and STI testing. Our Peer Navigator is available for hands-on peer support!

White Medical Transportation is for people living with HIV/AIDS who need help with transportation to get to medical and other services that help them maintain their health. Transportation assistance may be in the form of taxi