Peer recovery program reaches into local gay community

Three local LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations are seeking to support LGBT individuals battling substance abuse and other issues through an innovative new program.

Recovery, Empowerment And Community Health, a collaborative effort of the Mazzoni Center, ActionAIDS and the SafeGuards Project, launched at the beginning of this month. Unlike other recovery programs, REACH does not just provide information via fliers or posters, but rather deploys several people directly into the community to educate high-risk populations about the services available to them.

REACH will specifically target gay and bisexual men of color, whom Judy Morrissey, director of behavioral health at Mazzoni Center, said typically are underrepresented in local recovery programs, such as the counseling and treatment services provided by Mazzoni.

“What we saw over a period of time was that our services were underutilized by many MSM [men who have sex with men] of color,” Morrissey said. “So we designed a program that will specifically reach out to this community and serve as a pre-treatment program.”

REACH, which will receive $2 million over the next five years from a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, began with each partner organization hiring what they call a “peer engagement specialist.” These three employees will venture into community hangouts to educate individuals about the health risks associated with substance abuse and other practices and provide information on area resources.

“We’re not calling them outreach workers because we’re taking this traditional model of outreach and giving it additional support because we’ll be able to have some of these conversations actually out in the community,” said Arti Chhabria, REACH manger. “The key component is that these are peers who have ties to the community.”

Chhabria said the peer engagement specialists will network at bars, clubs, LGBT and HIV/AIDS-awareness events, and even will visit such places as public restrooms known to be frequented by men looking for sex with other men.

Chhabria noted that while the initiative seeks to enroll more individuals in recovery programs, it also has a broader goal of changing the mindset of this population toward substance abuse.

“We’re dealing with a community in which drug and alcohol abuse is very glorified; it’s almost an expectation,” she said. “These peer engagement specialists are a part of this community but are going out and sending a different message: It doesn’t have to be that way. Yes, we’re going out to recruit people for recovery programs, but we also want to send the message to this community that it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Brian Green, SafeGuards executive director, said the homophobia LGBT individuals often face throughout their lives has a significant impact on their health.

“Unfortunately because of the societal discrimination and stigma that LGBT people face growing up, there’s a higher rate of depression, substance abuse and higher rates of some other mental issues in the community,” Green said. “We know that these people often try to access these services, but many times providers aren’t sensitive to LGBT populations. And there’s a stigma within our own community; it’s often hard for gay people — and gay men especially — to admit that they need help for these issues.”

Kevin Burns, executive director of ActionAIDS, noted a correlation between substance-abuse and mental-health struggles and HIV/AIDS risk.

“People who have an active addiction or who are in the beginning stages of heading down that road are at a higher risk [for HIV/AIDS],” Burns said. “They’re less inhibited and engage in behaviors that they might not otherwise necessarily engage in. With the way infection rates are right now, we need to be doing more outreach in connection with these at-risk populations, so we’re very excited about this program.”

For more information on REACH, e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] or call (215) 563-0663 ext. 245.

Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].

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