We offer individual, pre-treatment, risk reduction sessions in Spanish for:

Latino men who have sex with men
Latino men who have sex with transgender women, and
Transgender Latinas

Once you come in for an initial appointment, we can schedule ongoing appointments for the following ten sessions which can occur during the day or evenings on Monday through Friday. We’re flexible and are willing to work around your schedule so if you prefer to meet more than once a week or even every other week, we will accommodate you. Appointments take place in our office in Chelsea/Flatiron District, Manhattan. It’s free, you don’t need health insurance and you get a MetroCard to help with transportation costs. Call or e-mail to speak with our Intake Coordinator. Walk-ins are welcome at the Manhattan office from 10 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday.

2 Group Level Intervention
We hold regularly scheduled discussion groups that are open to anyone that identifies as a Latino gay or bisexual man, a transgender Latina, or Latino man who has had sex with men or transgender women. These groups are free, open to all, occur a few times during the month and are presented in Spanish. These chats take place at our offices in Manhattan and Queens.

During these discussions, we participate in activities meant to build community and encourage participation. Talking about topics that affect us, such as sexual health and substance use, these shouldn’t be boring. We also take the opportunity to offer services and even provide HIV testing. You don’t need an appointment, just drop by. See our website calendar, Facebook or Twitter for upcoming discussions.

3 Community Outreach and Peer Education (Comadres y Compadres)
Our Compadres and Comadres (program peer educators and outreach workers) promote the program services and recruit potential participants for the individual and group level interventions at community events or in a clubs and bars in Queens and Manhattan. Outreach is also a very important opportunity to meet people where they are socializing and sharing their stories therefore we work with bartenders, club promoters, and bar managers to help their customers access services, such as housing and employment. If you work in Latin bars or clubs and want to refer Latino men and transgender Latinas, or want to invite our Compadres y Comadres to talk with your patrons, just call or e-mail us.

4 HIV Testing
Since you may want to know your status, we also offer on-site, free and confidential HIV rapid testing from Monday through Friday, 9:30 am to 6:30 pm, to make an appointment please call (212) 584-9325. Walk-ins are also welcome.

5 Community Participation
The Para Ayudar program seeks community participation and collaboration with other programs and agencies. The program achieves these goals through the the Grupo Colaborador, SAMHSA Grantees Quarterly Meeting and developing linkage and referral agreements.

The Grupo Colaborador (Collaboration Group) meets quarterly, is conducted primarily in Spanish, and is composed of researchers, providers and consumers who provide feedback and direction on service provision and program materials, it also serves as a networking opportunity to learn about new services and programs.

The Para Ayudar program receives funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), under the Targeted Capacity Expansion Program for Substance Abuse Treatment and HIV/AIDS Services (TCE/HIV) program. New York City has various programs funded under the same grant and so the Para Ayudar program has been organizing SAMHSA Grantees Quarterly Meetings with other local grantees to exchange knowledge and best practices. These meetings are facilitated in English.

If you’re a service provider and would like to develop a mutual agreement on receiving and referring clients, particularly if you require or offer services in Spanish, for undocumented, HIV positive individuals, gay or bisexual men or transgender women, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Contact the Program Director for more information at (212) 675-3288 x322 or e-mail jdgastolomendo@latinoaids.org