Employment and economic self-sufficiency play a key role in health. With the effectiveness of early antiretroviral treatment (ART), many people with HIV can (and do) participate in the country’s workforce. When community-based organizations, HIV/AIDS service organizations, and health care centers provide employment services to their clients, a thoughtful approach is required to address the potential barriers to employment on the individual, organizational, and structural levels. POWER (Pursuing Opportunities with Employment & Resources) is an innovative intervention developed in New Haven, CT, based on the job club model. It seeks to bridge the gap between barriers and employment through peer support and community partnerships to prepare participants for success. Learn how Liberty Community Services, Inc. successfully integrated employment into their existing services through the POWER intervention. 

How do I know my peer program is working? Wednesday, January 26, 2011, ET
Peers living with HIV/AIDS play an essential role in engaging HIV-positive individuals in care and treatment. This webcast is intended for organizations and individuals interested in learning about methods to document the impact of peer services on HIV care and treatment. Evaluators working in clinics and community-based organizations discuss strategies and tools for monitoring, evaluating, and disseminating information about peer programs.

HIV-positive peers who work to retain PLWHA in care and treatment and who may have experienced life challenges similar to those of their clients have unique needs for supervision and support. Effective peer supervision calls for supervisors to develop a highly supportive supervisory style that borrows from mental health counseling, social work and supervision. This webcast provides strategies for supportive and clinical approaches for supervising peers in the workplace. Panelists discuss case examples addressing issues such as managing peer-client relationships, working with peers as part of a multidisciplinary team and supporting peer development.

As the role of peers in HIV care and treatment has become increasingly valuable, so has the need for comprehensive training materials. The PEER Center and the Peer Education Training Sites have developed a toolkit, Building Blocks to Peer Success, to assist trainers and program directors in planning a peer training for newly hired peers or providing continuing education for existing peers. This Webcast gives participants an overview of the content and organization of the toolkit as well as a brief introduction on how to use the toolkit to plan and organize training.

Peers living with HIV/AIDS play an essential role in engaging HIV-positive individuals in care and treatment. The unique nature of that role brings with it special considerations when integrating peers as part of the health care team. This Webcast helps participants learn to identify peer roles and responsibilities, develop training and supervision systems, and monitor and evaluate peer contributions to HIV services.

This webcast is the first of a two-part continuing education series for HIV positive peers and their supervisors. The Webcast includes speakers with extensive experience in training and supervising peers to work with clients around disclosure.

Evaluators working in clinics and community-based organizations will discuss strategies and tools for monitoring, evaluating, and disseminating information about peer programs. The webcast included speakers from three programs: PEER Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston; MAPACT Project, Columbia University in New York City, NY; Missouri AIDS Alliance, Kansas City Free Health Clinic in Kansas City, MO