EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

For a tiny agency, ASMR is the loudest voice when it comes to educating youth not only about HIV/AIDS but also: substance abuse, including alcohol, marijuana, heroin and cocaine; transmission of many infectious disseases, including the mini-epideimic of sexually transmitted chlamydia and gonorrhea among middle-schoolers, syphilis, herpes and the blood-borne pathogens of Hepatitis C, as silent epidemic in and of itself; pregnancy in general, as well as mother to child HIV transmission; needle risk reduction including injection drug use, tattoo and body piercing practices and the sharing of cocaine straws; sexual behavior practices including oral sex, promoting abstinence as well as condom use to address the reality of sexually active students.

Here in the Monadnock Region, it is ASMR's job to conduct educational outreach that addresses a large number of key risk behaviour issues beyond our primary goal of AIDS education.  Schools seek ASMR's assistance to educate and inform students about HIV/AIDS and 90% of the time they are unable to pay for our services.  We deliberately use non-traditional opportunities, such as fundraisers, in order to bring a prevention message to our audience through creative messaging.  Distribution of condoms, safe sex kits, and condom keychains engage an adult audience who then carry information to the youth in their lives.

In the midst of all these discussions, the additional topics of sexual orientation, discrimination, hate crimes, social norms, disease, incarceration and death arise.  Someone in every audience has had a personal experience with a friend or family member who has died from AIDS.  The profound scope of conversation that occurs when ASMR engages with youth goes well beyond HIV/AIDS education.  

ASMR's community interventions occur on a broad interactive spectrum and offer outreach in a variety of ways.

When we provide an HIV test, we have at least two and often three chances to interact with an individual.  Pre- and post-test counseling sessinos offer frank discussions about personal risk behavious that could potentially negatively impact the quality of life for not only one person, but often an entire family.  Since July 2001, we have identified four HIV+ persons through testing and gotten them into care, as well as four people who tested positive for chlamydia and 4 people who tested positive for Hepatitis C.

When we go into schools, we bring resources to teachers that they may not otherwise have the capacity to offer, not only in terms of information but also in navigating the discussion around difficult subject matter.  We leave behind educational materials such as brochures, posters, curricula and books that then beome teaching tools for staff and students alike.  We provide HIV+ speakers who make the greatest impact of all.  We strive to influence the future behavior of young adults by providing the information they need to make smart decisions in order to become good citizens.

When we help keep a client out of jail by serving as his/her advocate, we work closely with the system and the client to ensure adherence to court requirements and begin to develop a more constructive lifestyle outside of the corrections system.

When we educate service organizations, faith communities and social service agencies, we enlighten them about the scope of services we provide and create alliances that can grow and change according to the needs of their clients and organizations.