NJCRI Staff & Programs

Addiction, Prevention & Education Services

Director: Bob Baxter


Projects & Services: CDSMP

Live Healthy, Live Happy My Brother’s Keeper Project Access Project CHETA Project COPE NJ React Project WOW!


As Newark’s only syringe exchange program (SEP), Project Access began in February 2008 with a goal of reaching 125 clients. To date, Project Access serves over 1450 clients and has referred 30% to drug treatment programs. This project is funded by grants from the Comer, Tides, and Diamond Foundations, the MAC AIDS Fund, and the New Jersey AIDS Partnership.

Project Access

Project COPE & Project Renew Manager Nimaako Brown


Community Outreach Prevention and Education (COPE)

COPE provides FREE drug treatment referrals to local facilities including The Lennard Clinic, Integrity House, Straight and Narrow and many others. Project COPE clients are always offered free and confidential HIV and STD testing that is provided on-site at NJCRI. If a client is found to be HIV positive and requires assistance they are immediately enrolled into NJCRI’s case management program and have access to NJCRI’s food pantry and medical and social services. In an effort to provide a continuum of care and support for Project COPE clients, there are weekly support group meetings held at NJCRI for clients seeking support in getting and staying clean.


Project Renew

Project Renew works with scientific prevention tools to help people determine if their personal history and behaviors have placed them at risk for major health problems.

This project does not stop with identifying risks. Collectively, clients and counselors work to find ways to prevent or deal with those health problems and healthy issues.

This NJCRI Division includes Corrections Project, Safety Counts and Healthy Relationships Intervention.


Project Renew: Corrections Project

NJCRI correctional HIV project works both in a lock-up facility and in the community. The program provides health education to inmates who are at high risk or living with HIV, as well as, continuity of care throughout their incarceration and eventual release to the community. NJCRI has implemented this project at Northern State Prison in Newark.

Project WOW & My Brother’s Keeper ManagerAunsha Hall


Project WOW!

• HIV & STD Prevention Services For Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender Youth Ages 13-24

• OUR SERVICES– HIV Prevention– Mental Health Services– Substance Abuse Prevention– Youth Drop-In Center

Youth Leadership Panel (LOF)Social Activities- Cooking Club, Photography,

Creative Writing, Yoga, Voguing, Professional Development

Safe Space for LGBTQ Youth


Project WOW!

Starting January 2011 Serves men who have sex with men

(MSM) of color ages 25-34 in Essex County

Provides Mpowerment, HIV prevention, Comprehensive Risk Counseling Services, and other socially supportive services and programming


My Brother’s Keeper

Project CHETA & CDSMP Manager Aura C. Caicedo



Community Health Expansion Technical Assistance

(Project CHETA)

CHETA provides free technical assistance, including training and mentoring, to small and medium sized community-based organizations (CBOs). CHETA specifically focuses on the organizational development and infrastructure needs of CBOs.

CHETA also provides free monthly staff development trainings to CBOs in the Greater Newark Area.


Chronic Disease Self Management Program(Project CDSMP)

Chronic Disease Self Management Program (CDSMP)The CDSMP was developed at Stanford University’s Patient Education Resource Center as a collaborative research project between Stanford and the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program. The purpose of the program is to help people with chronic conditions and/or their caregivers to develop the necessary tools to effectively self-manage their or their loved ones’ chronic condition.

Care & Treatment

Director: Corey Rosmarin-DeStefano

Care & Treatment Services

Services Offered: Primary Medical Care Behavioral Services Medical Nutrition Counseling/Education Food Pantry Treatment Adherence (TA)

Counseling/Education Medical Transportation Services Direct Emergency Assistance (DEA) Programs Support Groups Medical Case Management (MCM) Services Clinical Trials

Care & TreatmentClinical Trials

At NJCRI we offer people of Northern New Jersey access to clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, as well as government studies.

Clinical Trials are research studies. They are designed to look for the best way to care for people with HIV and other illnesses. They may test new drugs or new uses for old drugs. Trials may look for the best way to treat or prevent the complications that come with HIV disease progression and the side effects these powerful drugs can cause.

A Clinical Trial is conducted by doctors and nurses who follow a set of instructions called a protocol. The protocol spells out the goal of the study, who may join the study, and how the study will be carried out.

Care & Treatment

HIV Care and Treatment Services

The NJCRI Care and Treatment Services seeks to empower people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS to live healthy, productive, and independent lives. We pride ourselves on providing one-stop shopping service for medical care and needed services listed below.

For those people residing outside of Essex County, information and referrals are made to service organizations in their county of residence.

Care and Treatment services include: Primary Medical Care, Behavioral Services, Medical Nutrition Counseling and Education, Medical Transportation Services, Direct Emergency Assistance (DEA) Programs, Support Groups and Medical Case Management.

HIV Counseling, Testing & Referral Services ManagerDanielle Bush

Care & Treatment

Care & TreatmentHIV Counseling, Testing and Referral

The HIV Counseling, Testing, and Referral department conducts free pre/post test counseling as well as HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) testing to individuals considered to be at risk. These services are provided at our on-site location and mobile units.

The goal is to identify and test individuals considered at risk for HIV/STIs. The program uses the OraQuick method for HIV screening through either oral or blood specimen and STis testing through urine and blood collection. The department also works with the state notification assistance program (NAP) to ensure that sex and needle sharing partners of HIV+ individuals are confidentially notified of their possible exposure to HIV or STIs. It ensures all HIV+ individual partners receive testing and counseling along with referral. All HIV+ individuals that are identifed are referred to medical care and case management.

Care & Treatment

NJ React Project Manager Henry Godette

Care & Treatment

NJ REACT

NJ REACT is an NJCRI Behavioral Survey Unit that conducts health studies. It conducts interviews in the Newark Eligible Metropolitan Area (NEMA) which includes Essex, Morris, Warren, Union, and Somerset counties. The studies are anonymous respondent and location based interviews. Interviews are conducted at our offices, mobiles units, and other sites. The information gathered assists in evaluating current behavioral trends and helps direct prevention efforts. The purpose of the studies is to gather information on individuals' HIV testing habits, risk factors, perceptions, and knowledge of services, in addition to other relevant questions. Participants are compensated for their time. The interview takes approximately 40 minutes.

THANK YOU!