| Last updated on May 21, 2007 |
The mission of the AIDS Center of Queens County is to:
enhance the quality of life for individuals and their families infected, affected and at risk for HIV/AIDS and other related conditions. We do this by providing comprehensive services in a non-judgmental, safe and supportive environment.
Description:
ACQC maintains eight offices, easily accessible by public transportation in Rego Park, Jamaica, and Far Rockaway. Each month, our dedicated corps of volunteers and staff provides comprehensive services to more than 2,000 program participants, including:
-Educational outreach conducted through formal presentations, prevention workshops, inservice training, street outreach and distribution of education materials
-Peer education training
-Weekly support group meetings for gay men, heterosexual men and women, individuals in recovery from substance use, care givers, Latinos (in Spanish), the bereaved, individuals newly diagnosed and lesbian/gay/bisexual youth
-Individual and group mental health services
-On-site HIV counseling and testing services
-Case management services including assistance in obtaining benefits/entitlements, and crisis intervention
-Prevention Case Management
-Scattered Site Housing
-Housing Placement Assistance and Independent Living Skills Training Programs
-Legal consultation on a wide range of legal matters including permanency planning, entitlements, landlord/tenant issues, debt management, family law, immigration, discrimination, and insurance. A wills clinic offers wills, health care proxies and medical directives, durable powers of attorney and guardianship documents
-Food, clothing pantries, emergency financial assistance and transportation
-Recreation programs, massage therapy, and acupuncture in a harm reduction model
-On-site primary medical care in cooperation with New York Hospital of Queens
History:
The AIDS Center of Queens County was created in 1986, as the first community based organization in Queens dedicated solely to serving HIV/AIDS infected and affected residents and their loved ones.
Prior to 1986, there were few services for people in Queens who were affected by HIV.
Often, those in need of assistance were required to travel to Manhattan. Many experienced difficulty negotiating public transportation, and simply went without care. Those who attempted to seek services in Queens found that many medical professionals and hospitals lacked adequate knowledge and experience.
The prevailing attitude in the borough of Queens was that AIDS was a "Manhattan Problem", one that did not exist in Queens. Even amongst those who did acknowledge the disease; it was assumed that only gay men and drug abusers were at risk.
In 1985, the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute recognized that AIDS was emerging as an epidemic in Queens, and issued a request for proposals to all service providers in the borough. The institute was offering funding for the creation of a task force to provide services for people in the borough with HIV infection. Initially, no one was interested!
Finally, a dedicated group of concerned residents and professionals...nurses, social workers, religious leaders and members of the gay community...organized to respond to the RFP. Their proposal was accepted and, with a start-up grant of $160,000, the AIDS Center of Queens County came into existence. ACQC officially opened its doors to clients in the winter of 1987.
In that first year, ACQC's initial staff, an Executive Director, a Social Worker, an Educator and a Volunteer Coordinator, provided services for 60 clients from a single, donated room in psychotherapists's office in Forest Hills. As word of mouth and referrals increased, so did ACQC's client base and staff.
Today, ACQC provides services to almost 3,000 clients with education to thousands more. From our eight offices located throughout the borough of Queens, we employee a professional staff of over 140 people, and successfully utilize community volunteers and peer educators. Our current operating budget has dramatically grown from our initial $160,000 and is nearing an unprecedented $9,000,000.
Our core funding provided by the AIDS Institute is now supplemented by the New York City Departments of Health and Mental Health, the Federal and City Governments, and several generous foundations including the Stonewall Foundation and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. ACQC also receives support via Medicaid and other third-party insurers.
Thankfully, some of the ignorance encountered in those early years has abated. What has not abated, however, is the incidence of newly diagnosed HIV+ individuals. Reported cases on AIDS in the borough continue to grow at epidemic proportions.
To date, more than 16,000 Queens residents have been diagnosed with AIDS, with over 8,000 having succumbed to AIDS related illnesses. It's estimated that there are as many as 70,000 additional residents who have not yet developed AIDS, but are infected with HIV - the virus that causes AIDS. Add to this the tens of thousands or family members, partners, lovers and friends who are affected when they learn of a close one's HIV status, and you see the epidemic in full swing.
Contact person: Ebony Small, Special Events Coordinator, (718) 896-2500, (email)
Office fax number: (718) 275-2094
Address:
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97-45 Queens Blvd, 12th Floor
Rego Park , NY 11374
(See a map) |
Web Site: http://www.acqc.org
Directions:
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Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: Q,R,V to 63rd Drive,
Walk distance (in minutes): 5 |
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