HIV Prevention

No one is immune to HIV infection. Any one of us can be at risk for HIV infection and we are here to help in managing those risks in a non-judgemental and culturally competent way.

We provide HIV prevention services and education which helps individuals who are currently HIV-negative to remain negative. We also provide services to HIV-positive individuals in managing their risk behaviors to prevent further risk with co-infection, other STDs, and more.

In the Prevention Unit, we have projects providing services to different sectors of the Asian & Pacific Islander (A&PI) Communities:

Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) Program – adult MSM project offers services to A&PI MSM who are 18 and older; and young MSM project offers services to A&PI MSM youth who are 24 and younger.
Women’s Project – offers services to A&PI women who are 25 and older.
Young People’s Project – offers services to A&PI youth who are 24 and younger.

Our goal is to create a comfortable and safe space for people who are living with or are affected by HIV/AIDS. Our services are confidential and free.

Below is a list of our services:

Educational sessions:
We conduct large group (usually more than 15 people) lectures and presentations in various settings such as: classrooms, organizations, and in-house at APICHA regarding HIV educational information. These sessions usually cover the basics of HIV and its transmission, risk factors, and prevention methods. Participants are also given literature on HIV prevention, condoms, lube, instruction of proper condom use, and referrals to services upon request.

Group sessions:
The group sessions tend to be for 5 – 10 people. There are a series of workshops providing information from basic HIV education such as how HIV is transmitted, what HIV does to your body, to helping people find ways to prevent HIV infection. In these sessions, we examine individual’s cause or trigger leading to HIV infection. Each prevention project conducts group sessions for their perspective communities.

Individual sessions:
The individual sessions are for people who are interested in having in-depth one on one discussions on HIV education and how to reduce the risk for HIV infection. The topics can vary from basic HIV information to factors which may affect the person’s risk for HIV infection. As with group sessions, these individual sessions are conducted by each prevention project for their perspective community members.

Outreach:
Each prevention project conducts outreach activities throughout New York City metropolitan area to increase awareness of HIV relating to the A&PI communities. During outreach activities, safer sex kits containing condoms, lube, literature of HIV information, list of services provided by APICHA, and instructions on proper use of condoms.

Peer education:
We also have a peer education program where we recruit individuals from the A&PI communities for each prevention projects. Once a peer is recruited and hired, we provide extensive trainings (over 40 hours) on knowledge and skills building regarding HIV, STDs, outreach skills, communication skills, facilitation, and issues affecting A&PIs and HIV. We also provide peer educators with on-going group and individual support meetings. These support meetings are spaces where peer educators can discuss challenges, successes, and progress of their work. In addition, peer educators’ performance is evaluated through the individual meetings on a regular basis.