Photos From the Keepin' It Real Block Party

On Saturday August 9, 2008, the BCI Outreach Team created a fun and enjoyable block party atmosphere to motivate our community members to consider the importance of their health and their individual HIV status. Free rapid HIV testing was provided along with information tables, a DJ, educational games, free food and give-a-ways.

Click here to view our album of photos from a fun event for a good cause.

Volunteer Spotlight: Walter Frazier, Outreach Support

Walter Frazier came to Brandywine Counseling as a volunteer with the Outreach Department in July 2008, and quickly became someone we could depend on to help out. In the first of a series of volunteer spotlights, Walter tells us about his experience in his own words:

I relocated to Wilmington a few months ago and decided that while I am seeking full-time employment I would volunteer at a non-profit agency. I learned about BCI by word of mouth and called to see if my skills might be needed.

In the past 10 years I have served on Boards and committees and even worked for the American Red Cross for 3 years as a program director in Bloomington, Indiana. These experiences have given me the opportunity to learn how important the work of non-profits is to a community.

Just based on the name, I assumed this organization most likely provided substance abuse counseling. Although this counseling is part of Brandywine’s activities, I had no clue there was an outreach department that provides free HIV testing and treatment if necessary, nor did I know of the methadone program for heroin users.

I have spent my time raising funds for the annual HIV Testing Event, which is held this year on August 9. I have found this project to be very fulfilling and relevant to me since I have lost 3 close friends to this wretched disease.

I have been surprised by how BCI approaches its endeavors. BCI provides its professional services without prejudice and blame. I have seen how quickly BCI drops everything when a client walks through the door for help. It has been inspiring.

What I have done while volunteering is very small compared to the activities of the whole organization. I feel gratified thinking one person might be tested for HIV, receive early intervention and live a longer life as a result of my efforts.

Outreach Workers Become Visible

From delawareonline.com, some video of our outreach team in action as they prepared for last Saturday's educational block party.

This Saturday - 1st Annual Keepin' It Real Block Party

1st Annual Keepin' It Real Block Party
Saturday, August 9, 2008
3 PM - 7 PM
L.A.C.C. (Latin American Community Center) Parking Lot
4th and Van Buren Streets, Wilmington

This Saturday is our 1st Annual Keepin' It Real Block Party event! We invite you to join us and have a good time.

The purpose of this event is to raise awareness, educate, and motivate people to get screened for HIV. We are targeting the adult community members who reside in the Hilltop/Westside neighborhoods in the 19805 zip code. We will be providing Free and Rapid HIV testing, Free Food, Games, Prizes, Gifts, and activities for the kids. Please consider joining us to spread an important message and create a fun and enjoyable atmosphere that will motivate our community members to consider the importance of their health and their individual HIV status.

Don't forget, this HIV Awareness event will feature information tables, a DJ, educational games, free food and give-a-ways! This is an excellent opportunity for your agency to promote its mission and services. Be sure to invite your co-workers, clients, family and friends!

5 Questions for Dianna Dorsey, Outreach Worker

5 Questions is our ongoing feature where we introduce you to the people who make Brandywine Counseling run, spotlighting a different staff member every two weeks.

Name: Dianna Dorsey
Job: Outreach Worker, HIV Prevention and Needle Exchange
Time with BCI: 5 years

1. What is your job at BCI?
I work in the Outreach Department as an HIV Prevention Specialist, and the NEP program. And what we do is, we go out in the community, and pass out condoms, educate individuals on the street about HIV, the spread of HIV and Hep C, and different STDs. We also try to get them to come and do an HIV test, and let them know how important it is to learn their status. A typical workday is being out on the streets, going all across town, educating them, just letting them know how important HIV is, and how important it is to not to be sharing your works.

And the needle exchange, we have the van, and the clients come out and exchange their dirty syringes for clean ones to prevent the spread of HIV and prevent sharing. So when we’re in the community and we’re doing our outreach, that’s another target. We go and hand out flyers, and let them know we have the needle exchange, and we’re also doing HIV testing out on the street at this location and this time, and different locations that we have throughout the week.

2. What got you interested in doing this kind of work?
I actually had family members who went through the struggle of addiction. And just seeing them inspired me to understand addiction, to find out the triggers, and everything that comes along with that. So that was my main reason. As far as working with HIV, I just wanted to be more educated about it. And once I got the proper education, I just fell in love with it, and that’s my goal. I love what I do.

3. What is your biggest challenge in doing your job?
My biggest challenge is not having [clients] come through, as far as getting tested. Or, on the streets, trying to really really really educate these people out there, and they’re still saying no. So, we have to come from different angles at times, and that’s a challenge. Because you have some people that are out there that say, “Well, I don’t want to get tested.”

“Well, have you ever been tested?”

“No.”

“Tell us the reason you don’t want to be tested.”

“I don’t.”

“Do you understand the importance of being tested?”

So, when they tell us no, they don’t want to be tested, that’s a very big challenge to me, because I’m not accomplishing what I’m out here to do.

4. What would people be surprised to know about your work?
I think they would be surprised to know that I really care. And caring for the individuals on the streets, that’s a plus. That’s number one. Because if you’re in this addiction - and you have individuals that are out there that don’t have loved ones – [and] you really show them that you’re there, and that you’re supporting them regardless of what decisions they make, I think that surprises them a lot also. Because if you just go out and say, “Here, take this condom,” or, “Come to the exchange,” they’re going to feel some type of way about that, because they’re not feeling the love at all from us. So in order for us to engage with these clients, we have to show them that we care. We have to show them that we love them, and I think that surprises a lot of them.

5. What advice do you have for someone who would like to do the job you do?
Come with it with your heart. Don’t just do it for a paycheck, have it in your heart that this is what you want to do.

Linda DeShields, A Pioneer of Addiction Treatment in Delaware, Dies at 63

Linda DeShields, a steadfast advocate for Delaware's most disadvantaged citizens who helped build programs for treatment, prevention, and rehabilitation, died on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware. She was 63.

Linda was one of the pioneering black females in Delaware’s treatment services. She opened the doors for people of color to enter this field, and is thought of as “the Harriet Tubman of treatment” for the state’s African American women and men. This legacy continues today, as many of the outreach workers she hired have ascended to supervisory positions. Her daughter, Rochelle Booker, is the supervisor of Delaware’s first needle exchange program.

In the late 1980’s, Linda started her career at Brandywine Counseling, Inc. (BCI) as Delaware's first HIV/AIDS outreach worker. Later, as Director of Outreach Services, she hired a team of indigenous outreach workers who were in recovery themselves, and often recently released ex-offenders. She had a strong work ethic, often working 10-12 hours a day when it was necessary to get the job done. She passed on these values to her team, many of whom had never held a job. Throughout her career, she became the voice for her clients in the community and diligently worked on behalf of them to ensure better access to the services they needed.

Linda recognized that addicted persons face interrelated challenges such as housing, crime, and domestic violence. In addition to her full-time job, she worked with numerous community organizations that dealt with these social ills. She was a liaison with the Wilmington Housing Authority for drug and alcohol services, a position that was the impetus for the creation of the NSAFE HIV case management program at BCI. She also worked with Mayor Sills’ administration as a community liaison focusing on substance abuse and related problems. Linda also appeared on the cable TV show “Women 2 Women” on channel 28 to interview women on women’s issues. She highlighted successful business owners, struggling domestic violence victims, as well as those addicted to drugs, and offenders.

One of the populations Linda was most passionate about was inmates, particularly women. For nearly 20 years, she volunteered at the Women’s Correctional Institution. She would go to WCI on a daily basis, meet with inmates about to be released, and prepare them for what to expect and to meet important goals like rejoining the workforce. She was also a very dear friend to the staff and often called to just check in on them. The staff remembers her as “an inspiration [who] always had a listening ear, and never turned away.” The way she touched the lives of the offenders and so many officers was like “being touched by an angel.”

Linda also volunteered at the Plummer Center, coming to the dining hall to have lunch with ladies who did not get family visits or any money. Her heart was in this work and she genuinely cared for the inmates. She continued her visits even after suffering a stroke that left her in a wheelchair.

Linda was also a member of the Police Advisory Board, and went to many parole board hearings to advocate for ex-offenders. She did substance abuse evaluations on offenders who had been referred to the Public Defenders office, and made recommendations for treatment as well as for pre-sentencing investigation.

Another passion of Linda’s was children in at-risk situations. She did weekly prevention and education interventions with arrested youth at Bridge House and Ferris School. She also worked with organizations seeking mentors, such as Eighth Street Baptist Church’s "Magic and Minds Together," which developed therapeutic drama skits for kids. The program was the result of a faith-based partnership with Brandywine Counseling, a connection Linda initiated before such partnerships were mainstream.

Rev. Ty Johnson recalls that Linda “was way before her time. She made the connection between the power of spirituality and power of recovery and knew it was vital to success and healing.” She knew that once she connected Eighth Street Baptist, whose board members were ex-offenders in recovery, to the recovery community that had resources, that things could change.

Linda DeShields was an inspirational and influential figure at BCI. She laid the groundwork for many of the services we provide today, and positively affected the lives of countless Delawareans. She will be greatly missed.

Funeral services will be held Monday July 14 at 12 Noon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, 2300 N. Claymont Street, Wilmington, 19802, with viewing from 10 am - 12 pm only.

2nd Annual Old Skool Outreach

Hi, this is Brandy Rodgers from the Outreach department.

It was a warm and bright afternoon on June 3, 2008 when Brandywine Counseling's Outreach team celebrated its 2nd Annual Old Skool Outreach event. It was a great time of fellowship and outreach as the NEP team and other staff at Brandywine such as our site supervisor James Harrison, and Chris Zebley and Joyce Bunkley who are nurse practitioners that work with HIV positive clients, joined us for the occasion. Last year’s event was such a success that we had to do it again, but this time Bigger and Better.

The NEP team, along with some of the staff at Brandywine Counseling’s HIV prevention programs, walked throughout Wilmington neighborhoods accompanied by some friends and family spreading knowledge about HIV prevention, rapid HIV testing, and ways to join the needle exchange program. We had a nice turn out at the event as the crowd enjoyed music while eating some wonderful BBQ done by Demitrius Bullock of the NEP team before going out into the neighborhood. The normal outreach team, which includes eight, grew to about seventeen people.

We had a great time spreading knowledge and interacting with the community. We would like to thank everyone who came out and showed their support for the event and we hope to see more next year!

More photos from the event

Join Us May 31 for "Old Skool" Outreach

Volunteer your time to save lives! It's our 2nd Annual "Old Skool" Outreach Blitz!

Please join BCI Saturday, May 31, 2008 from 11 am - 3 pm for a Mega Outreach Blitz in the City of Wilmington to promote the Needle Exchange Program. We need former outreach workers and people who have never done it before but want to give back. Walk through the city spreading a message of hope, recovery, health, and safety. Encourage drug users to enter treatment, enroll in the needle exchange program and most importantly get tested for HIV.

Refreshments will be provided.

Last year's event was a big success and we can't wait to do it again.

If interested please sign up with Rochelle Booker at 757-3821 or apply online.

5 Questions for Chris Zebley, Nurse Practitioner

5 Questions is our ongoing feature where we introduce you to the people who make Brandywine Counseling run, spotlighting a different staff member every two weeks.

Name: Chris Zebley
Job: Nurse Practitioner
Time with BCI: 4 years

1. What is your job at BCI?
I’m a board certified adult nurse practitioner and HIV specialist. I actually work for Christiana Care Health System. My department is the Community HIV Program. I collaborate with Dr. Szabo, who’s an infectious disease physician, and we run an HIV clinic here at the Lancaster site every Tuesday morning. The whole idea was to allow a one stop shop to get your mental health, your substance abuse treatment, and if you’re HIV positive, to get your HIV medical care under one roof. We call it “nested services.”

2. What services do you provide to BCI clients?
A nurse practitioner can treat acute and chronic illnesses throughout the lifespan, along with having prescribing privileges. I can practice independently, whereas a physician assistant must have supervision.

The services I provide include case management and treating acute illnesses. The clients who come in to see me generally present with maybe a tooth abscess, bronchitis, a skin infection, sprains or strains. The client may be unable to see their primary care physician, or worse yet, because of their addiction, might not see it to be a priority to take care of their health. I make referrals to dentists, PCP’s, foot and eye appointments. On occasion I’ll refer them to the ER, and I can call people that I know in the emergency room. There’s many, many things that I’ve done for people as part of referrals and such.

In my HIV clinic I have around 35 clients. I get referrals from my department, from NSAFE upstairs, Outreach, or by word of mouth. The medical management of these clients is very intense, because the majority have “advanced disease,” so it’s my duty to assist them in maintaining optimal health. We treat patients with very, very heavy co-morbid conditions - Hepatitis C, heart failure, vascular problems. I may do pill planners to aid in the adherence of their medicines, treat any acute illnesses that may arise, and also provide health maintenance by making sure they have their necessary screenings, such as a colonoscopy, Pap smear, or mammogram.

On Fridays I usually do annual physicals for Dr. Glick, as well as intake physicals for methadone, Suboxone or Revia. I do part time work with the Medical Maintenance Level 2 program at Newark where the people come in once a month for their methadone.

I’ll be working hand in hand with Outreach on Safety Net Services. I’ll be providing case management, HIV medical care, and psychotropic medication management.

3. What drew you into a career in the addiction treatment field?
This is something that I grew into. In the hospital we’d always have people that were disadvantaged, and stigmatized in society - IV drug users, the homeless, HIV infected individuals. These were real people with real illnesses who never asked for anything, and were very appreciative of the care they received. And I always thought, I’d like to work with these individuals, because they had a lot of needs, simple needs, that could be fulfilled.

This was a job posting with Christiana Care. I was working in employee health as a nurse practitioner at the time. I happened to see this posting, and it was for the Riverfront. An HIV clinic, but you would be working in a methadone clinic. I didn’t even know what a methadone clinic was, really. I didn’t realize how many people actually go to these places.

There were many people telling me, “You’re not gonna like it. You’re gonna regret taking that job.” You can’t go on hearsay. If I’d really listened to people, I might not be here today. I would not even have taken the position. I had to experience that for myself. And from day one, it was fine, it was nothing like what people told me it was going to be. I enjoyed it from day one. Because we’re able to meet the people’s needs, that’s a big thing.

4. If you had $30,000 to donate to BCI, what would you do with it?
Certainly the Outreach. They’re the ones that get people in here. They do so much good, whether it’s the food closet, or the clothes closet, and to help for that needle exchange to grow. As we see the research and the data come down, I’m sure the federal government and the state will allow us to expand. But that’s been a plus here for Brandywine Counseling. I’ve done intakes and I asked them, “Well, how did you know to come here?” And they said, “Well, it was the needle exchange.” That’s an indicator that it’s working.

I’d also open more transitional housing, because recently the CDC announced that homelessness is now the single largest contributor to HIV infectivity.

5. What is it like to work with these clients?
You’ve really got to like people in their worst condition, and in their good condition. And that’s what nursing is about, the human response to illness.

These people are survivors. They’re very, very smart. They could be executives if they could put their mind to more positive things. Some of these people could have been very, very wealthy and rich, the way they’ve been able to hustle, to get money for drugs. People have written about, if we could only find out how these people, the disenfranchised, tick, and how they’ve been able to survive these harsh illnesses, without a lot of medicine, then we could treat a lot of other illnesses cost effectively without using medications.

My first patient that I ever saw [now] comes here for take-homes twice a week, so they’ve been drug free for almost two years. I have them come in for support, and they’re part of my HIV clinic too. To me that’s a success story, because they know that they can come in at any time, whether they can see their counselor or not. To really see this person get out of the deepest, darkest abyss, where they were constantly using, and she’s not now, so she’ll continue in her recovery. That was pretty cool, to actually see that.

Delaware Adopts New Rapid HIV Test

Delaware's Division of Public Health has announced they are adopting a new finger prick HIV test. The Unigold test will replace the OraQuick oral swab due to its quicker results, longer shelf life, and cost savings.

Click here to read the full press release.

5 Questions for Evelyn Handley, Receptionist

Welcome to a new feature on the BCI Blog called 5 Questions. Here, we’ll introduce you to the people who make Brandywine Counseling run, spotlighting a different staff member every two weeks.

Name: Evelyn Handley
Job: Receptionist, Alpha program
Time at BCI: 12 years

1. What is something people would be surprised to know about your job?
How much I do! From the time I open the door at 7:00, it’s on. There’s work to be done. People are sometimes lined up outside to come in. Anyone that walks in to the front door, I’m the first person they see. So I more or less help them out, getting their name, their information, showing them how to fill out their packet. A lot of people aren’t capable of reading or writing. I help them with that. I get the packet to the assessor, I chart, I discharge, run the machines, whatever needs to be done, I take care of it.

I hear as much about a person’s problem coming in the door as the counselor they sit down with. I talk to people every day about rape issues, divorces, DFS, people coming into their home, taking their children, the drug and alcohol, a little bit of everything. When they’re done talking to me and they end up coming back, “The information you gave me was wonderful, it was so helpful, I enjoyed talking to you,” I know what I do at the front desk makes a big difference.

2. What advice do you have for someone who would like to do the job you do?
You have to be a people person, for real. You really do. Everyone’s not capable of sitting at that front desk. It can become overwhelming, because your clients come in the door. Some people have good days and bad days. If they’re having a good day, you know it, if they’re having a bad day, you definitely know it because they give you all their stuff. You have to be able to swallow that, keep smiling, and be able to help them at the same time. Also, you have some people that are very aggressive. You need to know how to back them down professionally and with a caring heart, and if that doesn’t work you need to know what next step to take.

3. What has been the most rewarding moment for you since you’ve been at BCI?
When you see a person come in the door crying, and their children have been taken from them, and they admit that they’re on drugs and alcohol, and they stay here for 9 months to a year, and within that time, DFS and Family Court have given their children back to them, you know that our work is really important, that we’ve done all we could to help them build up their self esteem and put them on the right road to recovery. When you see a person that doesn’t have a job, they’re homeless, 9 months from now, they have it all or they’re on their way to getting it, that’s rewarding.

4. If you had $30,000 to donate to Brandywine Counseling, what would you do with it?
It would have to go to two different places, I would split it. Our Bridge Perinatal, and our HIV [Outreach]. I started out with the HIV department. Street outreach is important - that was said to me maybe my second year by [Executive Director] Sara Allshouse. I didn’t know just how important it was. I knew the job I was doing, I went out on the street, I talked to people about HIV, about BCI and what we do here, we wore the T-shirt. But once that was said to me, I went a little further.

There were people that didn’t have rides, they lived in very harsh places in the city of Wilmington. We would get out of our bed at 5:00 in the morning, and go to these people’s homes and pick them up, just to get them in, because these people were either HIV positive or AIDS defined. And once getting them through the front door, we were able to have the assessment done to get the type of treatment they really needed.

5. Many of our staff decorate their office with personal items – tell us about what you have at your desk.
First of all, I’m lucky to have this job. I’m a recovering addict, and I had said, “There’s no way in the world these people would hire me because of my background.” The question was asked of me, being a recovering addict, what did I want out of life? I said I wanted an opportunity to build a life for myself and my son. And [Medical Director] Kay Malone, and Sally Allshouse, God bless her soul, said, we’re going to give you the opportunity to do so, and they did. I have actually built a life here. I’ve bought a home here. I have my son in my life, cars, a mortgage. I’ve built a life here.

The only thing that means more to me than anything else in this world is my son. His name flows across my computer [on the screensaver]. That’s all I need. That reminds me why I changed my life. It reminds me why I’m still here, raising him and making a better life for him than I had for myself. That’s important to me, and whenever I turn around to that computer, I see his name come across, it makes all the difference in the world. I don’t need a picture of him, he’s in my mind all the time.

United Way Kicks Off 2007 Campaign

United Way of Delaware kicked off its 2007 campaign September 19. This year's fundraising goal is $22 million. The charitable donations collected are distributed to over 100 member agencies including BCI.

Here, these funds support our HIV Prevention and Outreach Services. This truly makes a difference for BCI and the community we serve. Your contribution helps keep our outreach team on the streets doing what they do best. It means we can continue to be there to give high risk drug users whatever they need - an HIV test, a clean needle, or a ride to treatment.

So make your donation today, and support effective programs that improve lives. Thanks in advance!

Introducing "Safety Net Services": Your Connection to HIV Services, With Drug Treatment When You’re Ready

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.

Old Skool Outreach

It was not just any other day of outreach. On this day, Brandywine Counseling was rollin' thicker than usual. On May 21, 2007, the existing team of 5 dedicated outreach workers grew to about 20.

Old Skool Outreach was a successful effort to bring former outreach workers, including James Harrison and Shay Lipshitz, together with the present team in order to promote Brandywine Counseling's needle exchange program. The approach was "old skool" in that we kept it simple and real.

We walked miles across the city spreading the message of hope, recovery, health, and safety. We encouraged drug users to enter treatment, enroll in the needle exchange program and most importantly get tested for HIV.

It was very exciting and we were greatly appreciative to work with all of the people that were willing to come out and show their care and concern for the people in the city they serve. We hope this successful effort will continue and this one be marked the "1st Annual Old Skool Outreach Effort."
We would like to acknowledge and thank the staff at Kirkwood Detox and Brandywine Counseling, Inc. for volunteering their energy and time.

QUICK FACTS

• 20 Outreach Workers
• 5 Hours of Outreach Work Completed
• 3 Neighborhoods Covered
  
• 150 People we talked to
• 400 Condoms and safe sex kits distributed
• 6 newly enrolled NEP participants
• 10 people who got tested for HIV