A Division of Cornerstone Family Healthcare
HVCS’ Women’s Services Program and Men’s Services Program are partnering with the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston to offer free HIV and STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing each month. Appointments can be made on the first Wednesday of each month from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Testing offered at 300 Wall Street, 2nd floor in the Well-Being Institute. Face masks are required by New York State Department of Health. Please RSVP by voice or text to: 845-704-7322.
HVCS’ Women’s Services Program and Men’s Services Program are partnering with the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston to offer free HIV and STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing each month. Appointments can be made on the first Wednesday of each month from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Testing offered at 300 Wall Street, 2nd floor in the Well-Being Institute. Face masks are required by New York State Department of Health. Please RSVP by voice or text to: 845-704-7322.
HVCS is providing free Hepatitis C testing and a bag lunch on 4 dates in May (which is Hepatitis Awareness Month). Testing and lunch incentives will be given at our SEP van (or in the Monticello office, on May 16th).
Here is the full schedule:
Thursday May 12, 2022 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm
Municipal Parking Lot @ Mill St.
between N. Hamilton and Catherine St., Poughkeepsie
Friday May 13, 2022 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm
Parking lot behind 280 Broadway, Newburgh
Monday, May 16, 2022 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm
20 Crystal St., Monticello
Tuesday, May 17, 2022 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm Elmendorf St. between Broadway and Tremper Ave., Kingston
Support provided by United Healthcare. For more information, call or text (845) 522-5767 or email us.
HVCS’ signature Drag Brunch returns to Gunk Haus in Highland for 2022! Join us on Sunday, February 27th for amazing performances hosted by Trixie Starr, tantalizing brunch entrees, games, prizes and more. This event benefits HVCS’ programs and services, like HIV. STD and Hepatitis C prevention.
All attendees must show proof of COVID vaccination at the door. Ticket includes choice of brunch entree and bottomless non-alcoholic beverages.
Tickets are $35.00 each. Get tickets now – they usually sell out!
This event is proudly supported by PCSB Bank.
Sponsorship opportunities are also available.
For more information, call J. Dewey at (845) 787-1789 or get in touch via email.
Giving Tuesday is an annual day of online philanthropy, organized to remind people that the holidays are all about giving.
Hudson Valley Community Services saves and improves lives, even while we all cope with ongoing pandemics.
We are only able to be there for our vulnerable clients because of your help. You make this Hudson Valley a kinder, more compassionate place.
In mid-December, we received an email from the Ulster County Department of Mental Health. They asked if we would be interested in signing on as a subcontractor on a grant from NACCHO: the National Association of City and County Health Officials. Specifically, they wanted to know if we would be up for reviving or rebooting our Mid-Hudson Project Reach Out (PRO) program to provide support and referrals to Ulster County residents with substance use disorder issues. We said yes, collaborated on a grant application, and were very pleased to learn that it was funded!
Street Outreach will offer many of the same services as PRO but is not van-based. Services include referrals to full spectrum addiction treatment (including in- and outpatient services and transportation to intake/admission appointment as needed), Expanded Syringe Access Program (ESAP), Syringe Exchange Program (SEP), Narcan training, HIV/HCV/STI testing counseling and navigation, case management, and food assistance.
Though we wish we could bring back PRO to the entire Mid-Hudson, we are thrilled to restore it to one county at least, and to have found a brand-new funding partner in Ulster County Department of Mental Health.
During the month of June the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center hosts over a dozen events and activities in honor and celebration of Pride Month and there are plenty of ways to get involved. See below for other Pride Month events.
In February of 2004 the same-sex weddings performed by then New Paltz Mayor Jason West and local clergy pushed the lesbian gay bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) community to the forefront in New York and across the nation. Those weddings led to the first New Paltz Pride March & Festival held in June 2005 which in turn led to the formation of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center. The Pride March & Festival has continued to grow ever since.
During the month of June the Center hosts over a dozen events and activities in honor and celebration of Pride Month. Check out the Pride Guide in May to get a full listing and description of all events, plus more information about marshals, sponsors, and elected officials.
Save the dates! Locations and links to be announced.
May 12th: Tea Dance Kick-Off
May 31st: Pride Dance Party & Drag Show
June 1st: Re-Paint the Town Proud
June 1st: Art Opening: “The Out List”
June 1st: Pride Opening Reception & Volunteer Recognition Event
June 2nd: Pride March & Festival
June 8th: Pride Picnic
June 10th: Geek Pride Game Night
June 20th: Know Your Rights: GENDA and Human Rights Laws
June 21st: Youth Pride Dance Party
June 22nd: Gross Indecency: The Trials of Oscar Wilde
June 24th: SAGE Table Intergenerational Meal
June 29th: Film Screening at Kingston Library
And more! Stay tuned for even more Pride events and programs.
Drag Brunch 2019 is now sold out! Thanks to all our generous donors who purchased tickets. We’ll see you on April 7th!
Missed out on being there in person? Support the cause and enter to win your own drag brunch at home in our Drag Brunch Raffle!
Prizes include a giant gift basket to create a “Drag Brunch” at your own home, Banana Republic gift cards, and more! Tickets are $20 each, and you don’t have to be present at the Drag Brunch to win. Visit our Drag Brunch Raffle page to get your tickets securely online.
Do you love brunch? Mimosas? Drag performers? and the Match Game?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, join Hudson Valley Community Services for Drag Brunch 2019! This event (which has sold out in past years) returns to Gunk Haus in Clintondale on Sunday, April 7, 2019. Our annual fundraiser benefits HVCS’ programs and services for people living with chronic illnesses. Hostess Trixie Starr will keep you laughing with games and hilarious banter as Liz, Dirk and the Gunk Haus staff serve up delicious breakfast and lunch fare. Local superstar Drag Queens JoJo Gerard, Valkyrie Hail and friends (exact lineup to be announced) will perform showstoppers while Superior Sounds keeps you grooving.
Tickets are $35 each and include choice of brunch entree, coffee, tea, juices and a generous donation to HVCS’ programs and services.
Enter our special Drag Brunch Raffle too!
There is some important news for clients of our Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP).
New York State has taken the necessary steps to ensure that February recurring SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) will be issued to all SNAP recipients in New York State by January 20th. If you are one of our NOEP clients, please note that this January 20th SNAP benefit is not an extra payment, but rather an early issuance of February’s benefit. Your NOEP Coordinator will work with you on how to budget accordingly since it will be coming earlier. It is also important to note that all households that require recertifications for February should complete all the necessary steps as soon as possible and before January 18th. Local SNAP offices are working hard to have these recertifications processed before January 31st. At this time, there is no information about how March benefits will be impacted. If you have any further questions please reach out to the NOEP Coordinators in your county:
For Dutchess County please contact Elena Dalia at (845) 360-9722
For Ulster County please contact Catherine Cortale at (845) 579-2558
For Orange County please contact Debbie LaBoy at (845) 522-5761
For Sullivan County please contact Pat Ocasio at (845) 842-1232
Free Community Narcan Training
Sponsored by Ulster County Sheriff Paul VanBlarcum
Awareness Inc. Marie Shultis and Young People in Recovery
Hudson Valley Community Services Inc.
Free Narcan Kits will be given. Please come with questions.
Narcan (naloxone) is an opioid antagonist and is used for the complete or partial reversal of opioid overdose, including respiratory depression. It is also used for diagnosis of suspected or known acute opioid overdose and also for blood pressure support in septic shock.
R.S.V.P. to Awareness Inc. at 845-417-1484 or by email at: ucawarenessprogram@gmail.com