Bedford Hills' Peer-Based ACE Program: Eliminating Fear of AIDS

• NCJ Number: 139585
• Journal: Corrections Compendium Volume: 15 Issue: 8 Dated: (October 1990) Pages: 1,5-7
• Author(s): G B Silverman
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program Description (Model)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted with permission from AIDS Policy and Law, published by Buraff Publications, a division of the Bureau of National Affairs

Annotation

An innovative inmate-led program called AIDS Counseling and Education (ACE) is helping to eliminate inmates' fear and stigma regarding AIDS at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York.

Abstract

Twenty-five inmates and five correctional staff members conduct the program, which provides a range of services to educate the 850 inmates at the maximum-security prison. Its most comprehensive effort is an 8-week workshop that is offered every 3 or 4 months to about 50 women. The workshop consists of 2-hour classes given each week, covering issues such as casual contact, HIV transmission, stigma, testing, and women and AIDS. The workshop curriculum is offered in English and Spanish. It was developed by the ACE members themselves, many of whom received training in public health and medical care. About 250 inmates have taken the workshops and seminars since they were first offered 3 years ago. The ACE program also includes a pre-release program and a presentation given as part of the orientation for new inmates. ACE members have also provided individual counseling to almost 300 other inmates, maintain an information clearinghouse, and provide support and counseling to inmates in the prison's hospital. Those familiar with ACE universally praise it for being peer-based. The program contains many of the elements recommended by advocacy groups for the New York correctional system, where an estimated 19 percent of the women and 17 percent of the men are infected with the HIV virus.