News
July 28th, 2010
WHCP Abstracts Accepted into 8th National Harm Reduction Conference
WHCP is proud to announce that abstracts submitted by Program Director Taeko Frost and Outreach Coordinator Tino Fuentes were accepted into the 8th National Harm Reduction Conference. PD Frost’s presentation is titled Big Ideas, Limited Resources: How to Effectively Harness Volunteers, and OC Fuentes’s presentation is titled Peer Delivered Syringe Exchange: Using Peers to Geographically Expand Outreach Services. November’s Harm Reduction Conference will take place in Austin, TX.
July 9th, 2010
WHCP Hires Kam Chan as New Fiscal Manager
After an extensive search and interview process, WHCP is extremely pleased to announce Kam Chan has been hired as the organization’s new Fiscal Manager. Ms. Chan brings seasoned and hands on finance and accounting experience, with an extensive background in non-profit fiscal management. Fiscal Management at WHCP is made possible by generous support from The COMER Foundation.
July 7th, 2010
Poetry Workshops begin at WHCP
Award winning screen writer Nicole Brending has begun Poetry Workshops at the Washington Heights CORNER Project. Workshops are an hour and all WHCP participants are encouraged to attend. During the first workshop participants enjoyed working from poems by Billy Collins, Dorothy Parker, and Gwendolyn Brooks.
April 17th, 2010
WHCP Anniversary Fundraiser a huge success!
Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the one-year Anniversary of WHCP moving into our storefront location! We were able to raise over $3,500 in unrestricted funds at our lounge party held at Elmo in Chelsea, NYC. Funds were raised through door sales, t-shirt sales (see our donation page!) as well as generous donations from Svedka, Brooklyn Brewery, Columbia Wines, Chelsea Piers, Continuum Cycles, NY Adorned, and more!
The WHCP Anniversary Party was organized by our Young Professionals Board, if you are interested in learning more about the YPB please contact Jamie at jamie@cornerproject.org
March 30th, 2010
New Staff Member Richard Garcia!
WHCP enthusiastically welcomes Richard Garcia as our new Health & Referral Specialist. Richard brings over five years of case management experience and a wealth of information about the New York City social service system. Richard decided to enter the field of Human Services after the September 11th World Trade Center attacks when he experienced some inconsiderate and rude social service staff at agencies set up to help 9/11 survivors. About working at WHCP, Richard says “What I like about WHCP is that my co-workers genuinely like what they are doing and are willing able to help participants and each other.” Richard was raised in Inwood and is happy to be serving his community.
February 17th, 2010
WHCP’s Overdose Prevention Program featured in the Manhattan Times
Washington Heights CORNER Project’s Overdose Prevention Training program was recently featured in the Manhattan Times. The article titled “Saving A Life Through Injection” was written by Adam Garrett-Clark.
January 7th, 2010
WHCP Thanks New York Cares!
Washington Heights CORNER Project would like to thank New York Cares and the thousands of New Yorkers who donated their winter coats for those who are less fortunate. Today WHCP received 200 coats which are being providing to our thankful participants.
WHCP is always in need of donation of lightly loved clothing! Please contact Jamie Favaro at 212-923-7600 x23 to arrange your donation!
BELOW: Members of WHCP’s Participant Advisory Board happily display winter coats provided by New York Cares.
January 2nd, 2010
Take Charge Take Care
As part of a comprehensive harm reduction strategy, Washington Heights CORNER Project proudly distributes the New York City Department of Health pamphlet ‘Take Charge Take Care’.
As part of the HIV prevention community, WHCP is disappointed and disturbed by the recent New York Post article ‘Heroin for Dummies‘ Please see this letter from the harm reduction community to Speaker Quinn and Council Members Koppell, Palma, and Rivera.
Harm Reduction Community Response to ‘Take Charge Take Care’ Controversy
December 3rd, 2009
WHCP in the Manhattan Times
WHCP was featured in the Shhh! section of the Manhattan Times this week. Mike Fitelson reported on the two Washington Heights organizations who won the Union Square Award. “Northern Manhattan will be in the house in force when the prestigious Union Square Awards are presented to distinguished city social justice and arts nonprofit programs on Fri., Dec. 4. Two of the 10 awardees this year are based uptown.”
If you can’t pick up a paper copy, the online article is here!
November 30th, 2009
WHCP Recipient of Prestigious Union Square Award
Photograph by Sarah Stacke, Courtesy of the Union Square Awards
Washington Heights CORNER Project is thrilled to announce that they are a recipient of the 2009 Union Square Award. WHCP was founded in 2005 as a direct response to the high-risk practices of community members.
WHCP Founder and Executive Director Jamie Favaro states: “It is my hope that receiving the Union Square Award will highlight the essential and progressive HIV prevention work provided in our community by Washington Heights CORNER Project. Funds from the Union Square Award will be used to support operational costs, as a small, unique, and relatively new non-profit; need far outweighs funding. We hope that the increased visibility garnered by the Union Square Award will help connect future foundations, funders and individual donors with our history, mission, and vision. Additionally, because stigma, shame, and secrecy facilitate unhealthy behaviors and disease transmission, we hope that community members and loved ones struggling with drug abuse or addiction will know that there is a resource in their community that will provide empowering and non-judgmental services to help them achieve wellness and recovery.”
The Union Square Awards program was established in 1998 by an anonymous donor to support innovative grassroots organizations responding to New York City’s most pressing social issues and making vital contributions through their efforts to the educational, economic and cultural life of the City. The Award is made to small organizations that have not yet received substantial funding or recognition.
November 2nd, 2009
New Health & Referral Specialist at WHCP
WHCP is happy to announce that Denise Jones has recently joined our team as Health & Referral Specialist.
Ms. Jones was drawn to WHCP because of the “Strong mission statement and I love the people that we serve.”
Ms. Jones started her career in human services seventeen years ago working with MRDD at Catholic Charities as a per diem weekend counselor and has held positions with Odyssey House, Palladia, FEGS, the Fortune Society, and Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation. In addition, she was honored in the 2007 New York Nonprofit Press as “Hero of the Year” and by the Elliot Tomlin Foundation with the Vision Award for Outstanding Community Service. WHCP is thrilled to have such a dedicated and hard-working individual on our team.
October 28th, 2009
NYU Students Producing Promotional Video for WHCP
Four NYU students in Professor Elizabeth Press’s ‘Shifting Focus: Video Production and Community Activism’ class are producing a promotional video for Washington Heights CORNER Project. Currently in promotion, staff, volunteers, and participants are being interviewed for this project. Expected completion for this video is mid-December.
October 7th, 2009
WHCP Begins Training Institute for Participants, Volunteers, New Staff, and Community Members
In October, we began the first cycle of the WHCP Training Institute. Brainchild of Program Director Taeko Frost, the WHCP Training Institute consists of 1 1/2-long interactive staff-run presentations examining topics such HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, Safer Injection, Safer Sex, and Street-based Outreach.
September 30th, 2009
WHCP Receives Daily Donations from Starbucks 181st
In September WHCP began receiving daily donations of pastries and bread products from Starbucks located at 181st Street and Fort Washington Avenue in Washington Heights. Starbucks kindly donates products not sold that morning to WHCP where staff hygienically package them and serve to participants. If you are a patron of the 181st Street Starbucks please make sure to thank them for their donations to WHCP!
September 21st, 2009
MSW Intern and MPH Fellow Join WHCP Team
In the month of September, WHCP welcomed two new members to our team.
Birtukan Assefa is an MSW Intern from Hunter School of Social Work who will be assisting our case management team in providing referrals and supportive counseling to program participants. Birtukan says “I’m excited to have an opportunity to work with the most energetic and down-to-earth people, who work tirelessly to advocate for those the system has turned its back on.” Ms. Assefa will be intering in WHCP’s Case Management Department providing intake and referral services.
Emily Metzner joins WHCP as our new CUNY -Community Partnership for Public Health Fellow. Emily is an outreach worker, peer educator trainer and supervisor in the Community Education Department at CitiWide Harm Reduction in the South Bronx. At night she attends classes the Hunter College School of Urban Public Health, working towards her Master’s Degree. Emily is working out of WHCP’s office on Sundays on a number of organizational capacity building projects including a participant needs assessment, community mapping and the development of a comprehensive peer education program.
September 14th, 2009
Two New Community Educators Join WHCP’s Outreach Team
WHCP is please to announce the addition of two community educators to our outreach team. Scott and Harry are joining us as part of the NYSDOH’s pilot ‘PDSE’ Program and will be responsible for community education and participant recruitment in the Hamilton Heights and Inwood communities. We are thrilled to have these two intelligent, motivated, and empathic individuals join our agency.
August 25th, 2009
Washington Heights CORNER Project begins WHCP Training Institute
On Monday, August 24th, the WHCP team enjoyed a retreat at the Mertz Gilmore Foundation to finalize September’s WHCP Training Institute Curriculum. Brainchild of WHCP’s Program Director Taeko Frost, the WHCP Training Institute involves a series of staff-run interactive educational lectures geared towards orienting new volunteers, interns, and peer educators on topics such as WHCP 101, Outreach 101, Sexual Health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, and Safer Injection.
If you are interested in volunteering for WHCP and would like to learn more about the WHCP Training Institute, please contact Taeko Frost at 212-923-7600 ext. 11
August 15th, 2009
Washington Heights CORNER Project Welcomes new Outreach Coordinator
We are very excited to announce that Faustino “Tino” Fuentes has accepted the position of Outreach Coordinator with Washington Heights CORNER Project. A Brooklyn native, Tino has been involved in harm reduction for over three years and has worked at both Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center and Positive Health Project. Tino says “I think we have the opportunity to do a lot of good in a community that has been neglected for a very long time. I know that WHCP will have a positive impact in the community and will grow with the help of great staff.” With only a couple weeks in the position as Outreach Coordinator, Mr. Fuentes had easily won the respect of many WHCP participants, management hears many great things about Mr. Fuentes from participants but the one we hear most often is “He’s here for the people.”
August 1st, 2009
Washington Heights CORNER Project opens on Sunday’s
We are very excited to announce that WHCP will now be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday!
July 20th, 2009
Ellery Perdomo joins WHCP team.
We are pleased to announce that Ellery Perdomo, a regular volunteer at WHCP has recently joined our team as the Program Assistant Intern. Mr. Perdomo has been assisting participants at our reception desk since June and will now be joining our Outreach Staff on walkabout outreach shifts and helping with program promotion and participant recruitment.
June 24th, 2009
Alianza Dominicana begins offering weekly HIV testing at WHCP!
Alianza Dominicana’s HIV Testing Program has begun offering weekly HIV testing services every Wednesday at WHCP’s 76 Wadsworth Avenue location. Testing is free and open to the public. WHCP also provides free Hepatitis C testing to those who qualify.
Testing is available each Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., walk-ins are available or to schedule an appointment please contact Taeko Frost at 212-923-7600 ext. 13
May 28, 2009
WHCP Hires Taeko Frost as Program Director
We are excited to report the hire of Taeko Frost as the new Program Director for WHCP starting June 1st. Taeko has been working in public health for the past six years as a Patient Advocate at Planned Parenthood, Researcher for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and as the Sexual Health Education Program Coordinator at Acadia University. Taeko attended Acadia University (Nova Scotia, Canada) to study Biopsychology and completed her Honours thesis entitled ‘Psychological Barriers to Accessing Preventative Health Care’. Most recently, Taeko has been working with Community Healthcare Network as a Health Educator and HIV Counselor in two clinics providing counseling and workshops to local CBOs and schools throughout Harlem and Washington Heights.
For the past year, Taeko has been volunteering with WHCP while completing her Masters in Public Health at the Hunter College School of Urban Public Health. She was responsible for beginning our HCV testing initiative, providing direct services during evening outreach shifts and completing a qualitative needs assessment focusing on participant ideas for our new office space. In addition, Taeko is fluent in Spanish having lived in several countries in Central and South America and is a resident of Washington Heights.
April 30, 2009
Thank you to everyone who attended our Open House last night!
A big THANK YOU to all who came to our Open House last night at 76 Wadsworth Avenue. It was a truely joyous occasion.
If you did not get a chance to stop by please stop by Monday through Friday.
March 26, 2009
OPEN HOUSE Save the date!
Please join Washington Heights CORNER Project on Wednesday, April 29th from 6- 8 p.m. as we open our new storefront office space located at 76 Wadsworth Avenue. Save the date!
While our Open House will be an informal affair, we are excited to welcome Council Member Miguel Martinez and Daliah Heller, the Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of Alcohol & Drug Use Prevention, Care, and Treatment who will both be saying a few words at approximately 7 p.m., SEE YOU THERE!
March 11, 2009
Moving Forward at 76 Wadsworth
We are thrilled to report that WHCP is moving forward with the construction of three confidential meeting spaces at our new 76 Wadsworth Avenue location! Rooms include:
- A conference room which will double as a space for therapeutic groups and educational sessions
- A confidential counseling space for mental health support sessions, crisis intervention, and HIV & HCV testing
- A confidential medical space for phlebotomy related to HCV testing, low-threshold medical consultations, and Narcan provision
WHCP is very excited to be expanding physically to support programmatic development!
February 23, 2009
WHCP Welcomes Two New Members to our Outreach Team
H. Steven Jerez is WHCP’s newest outreach staff member (Pictured here [L] with Wilfredo Rodriguez). Steven who is a life-long resident of Washington Heights previously worked at New York Harm Reduction Educators. Funded under Uptown Health Link, Steven’s outreach work will focus on expanding syringe access and harm reduction services within the Northern Manhattan community.
Tom is the newest member of our Peer Delivered Syringe Exchange (PDSE) program, we are very happy to have him on our growing PDSE team.
January 27, 2009
WHCP is moving!!
We are thrilled to report- Washington Heights CORNER Project has finally found a new home!
After 16 months in a non-SEP waivered, non-handicap accessible office with no bathroom of our own (not to mention no hot water at all!), WHCP has found a waiverable and accessible home.
Last Thursday WHCP signed a lease on a street-level storefront space at Wadsworth and 176th Street, roughly two blocks from where our team currently conducts outreach. One of the most fortunate aspects of this space is that it’s being sublet by the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation- one of Washington Heights’ oldest and most well-respected social service agencies- right next door!
Funding for this office space was made possible through the Uptown Health Link- an alliance of HIV prevention service providers spearheaded by Harlem United and funded by the New York State Department of Health. While funding for the rent of our physical space is secure, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help WHCP purchase supplemental moving and programmatic supplies. We have a big job ahead of us, funds donated will help purchase furniture, paint, plants, and all those special touches that will transform this new office into a warm, welcoming atmosphere and base for change.
I would like to give special thanks to Todd Pollack who was with us every inch of the way in lease negotiations and legal assistance, the Injection Drug Users Health Alliance (IDUHA) which has supported our efforts even before we had a name, our amazing interns Taeko Frost, Devon Callahan, Sarah Adkins, and Naomi George, as well as everyone who has helped behind the scenes- we could not have made it this far without your emotional and spiritual support.
For years, our dream for WHCP was to act as a multi-service center focusing on drug user health and empowerment, to create a space where physical and emotional wellness could thrive. Now, finally, we can cultivate a physical environment that will nurture this goal.
January 2, 2009
WHCP welcomes BJ Harris to our Case Management Team
WHCP is very excited to announce the addition of BJ Harris to our team! BJ is WHCP’s new Case Manager and brings a wealth of experience to our office. BJ will be offering case management services on Monday’s, Thursday’s, and Friday’s from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is here to assist members of our community with targeted support services, private interventions, and referrals. In addition, BJ is helping our participants take advantage of resources including but not limited to entitlements, housing, medical, dental, legal and GLBT services.
December 29, 2008
Join WHCP at ‘New Directions for New York: a Public Health & Safety Approach to Drug Policy’
Register now for New Directions for New York: a Public Health & Safety Approach to Drug Policy which is being held at the New York Academy of Medicine on January 22nd and 23rd, 2009.
From the Drug Policy Alliance website:
“For too long, New York’s response to drug policy issues has relied heavily on a criminal justice approach. The Drug Policy Alliance and the New York Academy of Medicine have come together to convene a conference that will put forward New Directions for New YOkr. This conference will bring together community advocates, researchers, service providers, and legislators from all over the state in order to build a Public Health & Safety Approach to Drug Plicy. For the first time, these various groups will participate in sessions and trainings that emphasize the need for better communication and a coordinated response to the drug policy issues facing New York. Using a public health framework, the conference will challenge participants to develop concrete proposals for improving the health of individuals, families, and communities in New York who are affected by substance use and misuse.”
Washington Heights CORNER Project is proud to be a partner for this conference.
December 23, 2008
Thank You New York Cares!
Thank you so much to New York Cares and each New Yorker who donated a coat to this wonderful charity. It is WHCP’s second year receiving coats, which are desperately needed by our clients.
If you know an adult in Washington Heights that is in need of a winter coat please call us at 718-285-9721.
WHCP Peers Jose and Juan model two New York Cares coats.
December 10, 2008
WHCP Begins Hepatitis C Testing
We are very proud to report that WHCP will now be offering free Hepatitis C testing from 12 to 2 p.m. every Wednesday*. Testing is offered on a walk-in basis at our 552 West 181st Street location. You may also contact Jamie Favaro at 718-285-9721 to schedule an appointment.
*Due to holiday schedules testing will not take place on 12/24 or 12/31.
November 20, 2008
Join Us in Honoring World AIDS Day, December 1st
November 3, 2008
Columbia University Students Join WHCP Staff on Outreach
WHCP is pleased to announce that students from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons- Sarah Adkins and Devon Callahan- have been joining the WHCP outreach team during various day and evening shifts since early October.
A major goal of WHCP operations is to integrate wellness and primary health into programming and participant lives. Due to the negative experiences that many participants have had with the medical community, WHCP is very excited about the initiative shown by these P&S students who have displayed a genuine interest and dedication to WHCP clients. Over the past month Ms. Adkins and Mr. Callahan have been soliciting program participants for input around the pressing medical concerns of the drug using community. We hope an assessment will reveal low-threshold methods of meeting participant needs as well as act as a catalyst for a broader advocacy movement.
In addition, Ms. Adkins and Mr. Callahan have been using funds granted to WHCP by the Columbia Presbyterian Neighborhood Fund to purchase materials and assemble sandwiches for WHCP clients. This has been an excellent supplement to WHCP outreach and has led to more effective engagement among the medical students and participants.
WHCP would also like to thank the College of Physicians and Surgeons student group REMEDY for their generous donation of medical and wound care supplies.
October 9, 2008
As member of an Upper Manhattan HIV Prevention Consortium, Washington Heights CORNER Project recieves funding from New York State
We are ecstatic to report that WHCP will be receiving grant funding from the New York State AIDS Institute as part of a 1+ million dollar effort to support HIV prevention in Northern Manhattan. The grant was awarded to Harlem United who subcontracted with WHCP as well as the Dominican Women’s Development Center and the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS to provide targeted services to those at high risk for HIV transmission in a geographic area historically underfunded and underresourced.
WHCP’s portion of grant funds were specifically designed to address the lack of an SEP-waiverable office space in which to provide comprehensive service provision to our participants. Through this grant, WHCP will be able to rent a storefront office space that is essential to the programmatic expansion so desperately needed in our community.
New York State Press Release
October 2, 2008
WHCP Registers Participants to Vote
Armed with bilingual Voter Enfranchisement materials and New York State Voter Registration cards, WHCP staff have hit the streets to encourage participants to register to vote. Many individuals believe that an incarceration history bars them from voting- thanks to materials from the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP) and the New York Civil Liberties Union, WHCP staff have been effectively educating participants about their right to vote.
August 25, 2008
WHCP Wecomes Jose Valladares to our Team!
WHCP is happy to announce the addition of Jose Valladares to our outreach team. Jose has joined us as part of the PDSE (Peer Delivered Syringe Exchange) Initiative funded by the Tides Foundation and the New York State AIDS Institute. An essential addition to our team- Jose has been very successful in engaging injection drug users who are housed and/or in the local methadone program- many of which are not familiar with Washington Heights CORNER Project or benefits of belonging to a Syringe Exchange Program. Jose says “I like it because the area needs it- a project like this, especially uptown.”
Jose has been helpful not only in his PDSE activities, but also helping Outreach Coordinator Wilfredo Rodriguez in making outreach kits which the team provides on street-based walkabout shifts.
August 4, 2008
WHCP Featured in El Especialito Newspaper
From left to right: Hunter MPH Intern Taeko Frost, Outreach Worker Eddie Checo, Executive Director Jamie Favaro, Outreach Coordinator Wilfredo Rodriguez, Fiscal Manager Irene Kim
July 31, 2008
WHCP in Gay City News
WHCP Board Member Manuel Ducret was recently quoted in the Gay City News article ‘Dominicans Lead Latino Health Charge‘. In the 7/31/08-8/6/08 article, Mr. Ducret highlights WHCP’s services with the drug using and hormone injecting populations in our community.
The news article highlights the 18th Annual GALDE (Gay and Lesbian Dominican Empowerment Organization) Health Fair and Picnic of which WHCP was happy to participate in! 2008 was WHCP’s second year tabling at the GALDE Health Fair.
July 10, 2008
MAC AIDS Fund Approves Grant for WHCP COPE Initiative 
WHCP is thrilled to report that the MAC AIDS Foundation has chosen to fund the WHCP COPE Initiative (Community Outreach Program Expansion).
The COPE Project is responsible for promoting stipened Peer Delivered Syringe Exchange Program workers to full-time positions within WHCP. The current lack of a physical syringe exchange office location limits our operations to street-based walkabout hours, which are insufficient not only in frequency, but the level of dignity we are sometimes unable to provide for our clients. In a community historically stigmatized by drug trafficking and abuse, individuals indigenous to the community- specifically within the Latino population- are unable or unwilling to take advantage of street-based services. Because peers are provided extensive flexibility and independence in the locations and times of their service provision, the COPE Project supports engagement with an individual who is ‘one of us’. This better enables WHCP to meet the challenging needs of the housed Latino IDU and sex worker population in Washington Heights.
WHCP would like to give special thanks to volunteer Brian Schatz for his assistance with the COPE grant.
June 22, 2008
WHCP participates in Upper Manhattan Health Fair
The Washington Heights CORNER Project was pleased to provide education and materials distribution at this weekend’s Northern Manhattan Health Fair sponsored by Heritage Health & Housing. The Health Fair was located outside the Upper Manhattan Mental Health Center (also known as the Emma Bowen Community Center) on 145th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
WHCP shared a table with Community Healthcare Network (CHN) who run a health clinic on 157th Street and Amsterdam known as ‘Community League of the Heights‘. WHCP has an excellent relationship with CHN thanks in large part to Taeko Frost (pictured here with WHCP Executive Director Jamie Favaro).
WHCP provided Health Fair participants information and education on topics such as HIV/AIDS transmission prevention, medical and mental health care for people living with HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Buprenorphine, Expanded Syringe Access, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Infections, and Legal Rights. We also distributed over 1,400 condoms as well as female condoms, dental dams, and lubricant. Health Fair participants were interested to learn about how to incorporate safer sex into their personal lives!
June 9, 2008
WHCP receives grant from the Medical Center Neighborhood Fund
WHCP is very proud to announce that we recently received our first grant from the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center Neighborhood Fund!
“The Medical Center Neighborhood Fund was founded as a joint effort of Columbia University Medical Center, New York- Presbyterian Hospital, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute to enhance the quality of life in the Washington Heights/ Inwood community. The Fund is dedicated to raising funds for local, nonprofit organizations that offer vital services and opportunities in Northern Manhattan.”
Funds will be used to enhance our current outreach supplies as well as provide nutritional incentives for service provision. The funds provided by the Medical Center Neighborhood Fund will be essential in contacting individuals who have little to no interest in engaging with WHCP outreach staff (generally due to enmeshed drug using or drinking behavior or negative experiences with abstinence-based service providers).
Engagement is essential to the work that we do- through engagement, WHCP staff are able to convey concern and respect for the individual and explain the referral and support services available to them via the program.
Thank you to the Medical Center Neighborhood Fund, WHCP is thrilled to be chosen as a grant recipient. We are very much looking forward to providing additional outreach supplies and making connections that otherwise may not take place.
May 6, 2008
Thank You Mailman School of Public Health
Big thanks to the Population and Family Health Department at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health- WHCP received a large donation of great clothes from students in an end-of-the-year clothing drive which was coordinated by Anne Siegler ‘08.
WHCP participants have been ecstatic about the quality of clothing donated, one said “Thank goodness this is here! I really needed clothes, I have been wearing this outfit for 5 days.”
If your school, church or civic group is interested in holding a clothing or toiletry drive to benefit WHCP please contact Jamie Favaro at 718-285-9721.
April 28, 2008
WHCP welcomes another member to our outreach team!
WHCP is very happy to welcome Eddie Checo to our outreach team! Eddie, who has been working with WHCP since November as part of the PDSE initiative began working full time in the month of April. Eddie is bilingual and a resident of Washington Heights. WHCP staff have marveled at his talent in street-based engagement and his specialization in buprenorphine education. Additionally, Eddie has a unique knowledge-base of the cultural dynamics that shape the Washington Heights community. We are very proud to have Eddie as part of our team.
This photo of Jamie Favaro and Eddie Checo was taken during a Friday afternoon community park ‘pick-up’ at the Fort Washington Foot Path. WHCP works diligently to ensure hazardous waste is disposed of in an appropriate and safe manner.
April 14, 2008
17 Percent of HIV/AIDS Cases Due to Injection Drug Use
A REPORT from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 17 percent of all new adolescent and adult HIV/AIDS cases reported in 2006 were caused by injection-drug use, the Center for Substance Abuse Research at the University of Maryland at College Park reported April 7.
Despite a dramatic decrease in HIV/AIDS transmissions amongst intravenous drug users since 1993 when syringe exchange first became legalized in New York City, AIDS is still an epidemic in our communities.
Syringe Exchange Programs such as Washington Heights CORNER Project continue to be essential in the fight against HIV/AIDS transmission.
March 20, 2008
Washington Heights CORNER Project receives generous grant from the COMER FOUNDATION
Washington Heights CORNER Project is proud to be the recipient of a generous grant from the Comer Foundation, grant funds will be used specifically to support our Fiscal Management department in addressing the complex needs of a new non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Strengthening WHCP’s Fiscal Department will help the agency to pursue sensible policies and procedures and demonstrate fiscal responsibility and organization early in the agency’s history so that WHCP will be better positioned for future grants and contracts to expand service provision that will directly benefit clients.
From all of us at WHCP, Thank You
March 7, 2008
Washington Heights CORNER Project works with midtown harm reduction agency Positive Health Project (PHP) to identify and service future clients.
WHCP thanks PHP and their outreach team for working together to better service Washington Heights residents who are in need of harm reduction service provision. Prior to WHCP receiving our waiver to provide syringe exchange, PHP identified Washington Heights as a high-need community which would benefit from syringe access and harm reduction resources. WHCP and PHP have been working together since 2007 to ensure clients are networked into care.
February 25, 2008
THANKS TO NEW YORK CARES- Washington Heights CORNER Project provided 45 individuals with winter coats this past season! Thank you to New York Cares, its volunteers, and all generous New Yorkers who donated their coats.
February 2, 2008
ABOVE AND BEYOND
WHCP would like to thank volunteer Saeedah Abdullah for her kindness and dedication in feeding WHCP participants healthy and nourishing meals since December, 2007. Saeedah began accompanying WHCP staff during Thursday night outreach shifts with sandwiches, canned food, juice, fruit, and granola bars. Saeedah has provided over 40 meals to the homeless and hungry with funds from her own pocket. She has become a popular member of our Thursday night outreach team!
December 14, 2007
On December 13th, WHCP and the Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC) partnered to offer WHCP community members free flu shots, Hepatitis A & B vaccines and Naloxone provision. Services were provided at the WHCP office on 181st Street in Northern Manhattan. WHCP is grateful to HRC for providing these services free of charge to our program participants.
November 29, 2007
Tonight Washington Heights CORNER Project Founder and Executive Director Jamie Favaro was celebrated as an ‘Emerging Leader’ by the National Association of Social Workers New York City Chapter for “Recognition of outstanding social work in New York City, exemplifying new and future leadership.”
November 15, 2007
Washington Heights CORNER Project is very proud to announce that Founder and Program Director Jamie Favaro will be recognized as an ‘Emerging Social Work Leader’ by the National Association of Social Workers.
Ms. Favaro is among 8 New York City-based Social Workers whose accomplishments will be celebrated at the November 29th Award Ceremony.
November 2, 2007
Washington Heights CORNER Project was recognized by the New York State Department of Health “For its extraordinary efforts and ongoing commitment to promoting harm reduction practices, specifically syringe exchange to ensure the health and well being of substance users in New York State”
Program Director Jamie Favaro and Community Outreach Coordinator Wilfredo Rodriguez attended the November 1st conference hosted by the NYS AIDS Institute. Key speakers included Dr. Guthrie Birkhead, Director of the AIDS Institute and Center for Community Health; Dr. Mathilde Krim, Founding Chair of the Foundation for AIDS Research; Dr. Don Des Jarlais, Director of Research, Chemical Dependency Institute of Beth Israel Medical Center; Daliah Heller, Director of the NYSDOH Office of Chemical Dependency Initiatives; Allen Clear, Executive Director of the Harm Reduction Coalition, and Dr. Richard Danes, the Commissioner of Health for New York State.
Above: Jamie Favaro and Wilfredo Rodriguez, WHCP
Below: Jamie Favaro WHCP, Eddie Santiago CitiWide Harm Reduction, Camila Gelpi-Acosta ACQC
August 30, 2007
We are proud to announce that Washington Heights CORNER Project has recently been awarded 501(c)3 status by the IRS.
This award is the result of the hard work and dedication of Paul Burgo, Esq. Mr. Burgo is a NYC based lawyer who completed the WHCP tax-exempt application pro-bono. We are thankful to Mr. Burgo for his time and devotion in assisting WHCP so that we may gain fiscal autonomy.
August 22, 2007
We are in the process of moving our office location!
Our new office is located at 552 West 181st Street, Suite #5 - Between Audubon and St. Nicholas Avenues.
While this site is not a registered Syringe Exchange location, it is a base for street outreach operations.
August 1, 2007
On July 29th WHCP participated in GALDE’s 17th Annual GLBT Picnic and Health Fair! WHCP provided hundreds of condoms to fair participants and provided pamphlets on everything from Hepatitis and HIV to Buprenorphine! It was wonderful to be among our neighbors.Thank you to GALDE for including WHCP in the 2007 GLBT Picnic and Health Fair.
Copyright © 2007 Welcome to the Washington Heights CORNER Project76 Wadsworth Avenue, Ground Floor New York, NY 10033 ph: 212-923-7600 fax: 212-923-3576