Brandywine Counseling has been awarded a five-year grant from SAMHSA/CSAT to enhance and expand substance abuse treatment, pre-treatment, and HIV/AIDS services in Wilmington, Delaware, with a multifaceted program we call Safety Net Services.
The two target populations are women, and ex-offenders returning to the community in the past two years. Each year we propose to engage 2500 outreach contacts in pre-treatment to reduce their risk. 600 will be tested for HIV, 300 will enroll in Safety Counts, and 75 will go on to enter treatment.
Delaware is currently 7th in the nation in per capita HIV/AIDS cases. Cases are concentrated in the city of Wilmington. The AIDS rate of women in Delaware is three times the national average, and the proportion of AIDS cases in Delaware that are women has doubled since 1999. Up to 80% of those incarcerated in the state have a substance abuse problem accompanied by high HIV risk.
Our goal is to provide a safety net for any person at high risk for HIV, regardless of where they are in the continuum of readiness for substance abuse treatment. Some individuals are accessing expensive crisis-oriented services when they could be serviced at a lower level of care. Others simply need additional support to increase their readiness for treatment or ease their wait for admission. Our program will provide the services and stability they need. We will connect the client to the services they are willing to access now, while helping increase their willingness to access more services later.
Safety Net Services is a combination of several Evidence-Based Practices and Effective Behavioral Interventions. Safety Counts will enhance our pre-treatment services as a risk reduction intervention that follows a person from first contact to referral. Our on-site HIV clinic will be expanded, allowing access to HIV and/or mental health Medication Management that is not contingent on readiness to enter substance abuse treatment. Participation in Safety Counts will be a condition for access to these services. For those clients who progress to treatment, we will expand Integrated Dual Disorders Treatment by two additional clinicians qualified to treat HIV and mental health disorders. Rapid HIV testing will be provided at all points of entry. Anticipated outcomes focus on engaging and retaining individuals in pre-treatment so they increase their readiness to reduce HIV risk and to enter substance abuse treatment. The program will be assessed through a comprehensive process and outcome evaluation.
Brandywine Counseling has a proven record of reaching into minority communities to serve chronic drug users and their sex/needle-sharing partner(s), facilitating their entry into substance abuse treatment, and successfully referring, engaging, and retaining them beyond substance abuse treatment. We will partner with Christiana Care Health Services to provide medical care, as well as several other local community-based organizations. These collaborations will result in a program capable of meeting the complex needs of the target population.
For more information, contact James Harrison at (302) 656-2348.
No comments:
Post a Comment