The Daphne Hazel Achievement Project Brings Fully Integrated HIV Health Care and Preventive Services to Planned Parenthood’s Bronx Health Center 

Named in memory of Project Street Beat’s former Vice President, the Daphne Hazel Achievement Project takes a holistic, patient-centered approach that addresses a person's physical, emotional, social, and economic well-being 

New York – Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) is proud to observe World AIDS Day, with the launch of the Daphne Hazel Achievement Project, a new fully integrated HIV health care and harm reduction program in the South Bronx. The Daphne Hazel Achievement Project strives to improve health outcomes for people living with HIV and at high risk of HIV infection by taking a holistic, patient-centered approach that addresses a person's physical, emotional, social, and economic well-being.  

Through the Daphne Hazel Achievement Project, people living with HIV and newly infected patients will be able to initiate antiretroviral therapy at PPGNY’s Bronx health center in 2023 or as the program is further developed. Antiretroviral therapy is an effective treatment to help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives; and significantly reduces the risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner. This new service will be the first of its kind in the long history of PPGNY’s fight against HIV in the South Bronx where Black and Latina/o/e communities account for a higher proportion of new HIV diagnoses and people living with HIV, compared to other races and ethnicities. 

Statement by Wendy Stark, President & CEO, Planned Parenthood of Greater New York: 

The Daphne Hazel Achievement Project is at the core of what PPGNY stands for every day - bodily autonomy, sexual and reproductive health care, more protections and services for communities most impacted by care access barriers, and initiatives based on equity for the most vulnerable groups within those communities. Black, Latina/o/e, and cis and transgender women are over-represented in new cases of HIV. The Daphne Hazel Achievement Project will support people with the information and essential health care resources they need to live long and fulfilling lives. Together, we can put an end to this epidemic and achieve health equity and justice for all.

The Daphne Hazel Achievement Project is an extension of PPGNY’s signature HIV prevention and harm-reduction program, Project Street Beat, which was founded in 1988 at the height of the HIV crisis. As Vice President of Project Street Beat from 1998 to 2013, Daphne S. Hazel shaped a health care program that personalized services based on a person’s unique life experience and medical history. Today Project Street Beat’s mobile health center continues to bring reliable sexual and reproductive health care directly to communities that face bias and discrimination in traditional medical settings, such as Black and Latina/o/e transgender women, sex workers, and young adults who are living with HIV or are highly vulnerable to HIV exposure.  

The Daphne Hazel Achievement Project aims to reduce health disparities in these communities by providing an immediate, streamlined link to care between Project Street Beat clients living or newly diagnosed with HIV and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services offered at PPGNY’s Bronx health center including:  

• referrals to mental health services,  

• case management, 

• substance use counseling, 

• outreach services and opioid overdose prevention, 

• STI testing and treatment,  

• birth control, 

• wellness visits, 

• initiation of HIV antiretroviral treatment, 

• and emergency HIV prevention including PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) and PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). 

Tamika Howell, Vice President of Project Street Beat: 

The expansion of HIV preventative care into HIV treatment is a natural progression of Project Street Beat. When Daphne S. Hazel joined PSB in 1998 at the height of the HIV crisis, she hoped to one day reach this level of integrated health care. Her pioneering efforts to educate, support, and advocate for people living with HIV have been central to Project Street Beat’s mission today and continue to be invaluable to the thousands of lives she touched. The Project Street Beat team is proud to continue Daphne’s legacy of holistic healing, that centers a person’s physical, emotional, and social wellness.

The Daphne Hazel Achievement Project is made possible by a five-year $2,480,000 grant from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s and Public Health Solutions  PlaySure Network, which is dedicated to ending the HIV epidemic by partnering with medical clinics and front-line community partners such as PPGNY’s Project Street Beat. PlaySure’s core mission aims to ensure all New Yorkers have access to services, such as HIV testing, HIV treatment, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Planned Parenthood of Greater New York is grateful to the PlaySure Network for supporting this program and is proud to honor Daphne S. Hazel’s legacy by naming the program in her memory. 

###

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) is a leading provider, educator, and advocate of sexual and reproductive health care in New York State. PPGNY offers a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services at its 23 health centers across 65% of New York State. PPGNY is a trusted source of medically accurate, evidence-based information that allows people to make informed decisions about their health and future. As a voice for reproductive freedom, PPGNY supports legislation and policies that ensure all New Yorkers have access to the full range of reproductive health services and education.