History/Historia

The Washington Heights CORNER Project, Community Outreach and Resources, Needle Exchange and Harm Reduction (WHCP) was founded in 2005 as a activist-run street-based educational outreach and syringe access endeavor aimed at reducing the spread of blood-borne diseases among intravenous drug users in the Washington Heights homeless community.

Launched by a social worker in the community, WHCP began outreach efforts two nights a week near the George Washington Bridge Port Authority Bus Terminal, a location frequented by injection drug users, sex workers, and other high-risk community members. Harm reduction supplies and educational literature were provided out of a nylon knapsack and service included mental health support, motivational interviewing and wellness and recovery counseling. The severity of commonplace high-risk behavior paired with participants’ enthusiastic utilization of outreach services, made it obvious that swift organizational capacity building would be needed to expand hours and service scope and actively work with Community Based Organizations, local, and state institutions to connect participants with appropriate service and treatment referrals.

WHCP has evolved to become the first not-for-profit social service organization of its kind in Washington Heights, a community dramatically underserved and under-resourced. WHCP seeks to decimate the transmission of blood-born disease and infections, injection-related medical problems, and related transmission to drug using associates, family members, sexual partners, and sexual employers. By focusing on those who have been turned off from traditional service provision models, WHCP meets participants where they are at and provides competent targeted interventions, aimed towards small improvements and steps towards individualized goals with the overall goal of reconnecting participants to primary and preventative care, offering mental health support, encouragement, and the means to make positive change in their lives.

Historia

WHCP ha evolucionado para convertirse en la primer organizacion sin fines de lucro de servicios sociales de su clase en Washington Heights, una comunidad desproporcionalmente de bajos servicios y bajos recursos. WHCP busca decimar la transmicion sanguinea de, enfermedades e infecciones, problemas medicos relacionados con inyecciones, y transmiciones relacionadas a los asociados usuarios de drogas, miembros familiares, parejas sexuales, y empleadores sexuales. Enfocandose en aquellos que han sido descartados de los modelos tradicionales de provicion de servicios, WHCP encuentra a los participantes donde ellos se encuentran y provee intervenciones competentemente enfocadas, apuntadas hacia mejoramientos menores y pasos hacia metas individualizadas con la meta general de reconectar a los participantes con cuidados primarios y preventivos, ofreciendo suportes de salud mental, apoyo, y los medios de hacer cambios positivos en sus vidas.

En Junio del 2007, WHCP se convertira en el programa de intercambio de jeringuillas numero 13 en la ciudad de Nueva York y el unico localizado en el norte de Manhattan.