Community Outreach

African Services' street outreach program reaches over 5,000 African and Caribbean immigrants each year where they live, work, shop and socialize.

Staffed by African community health workers, the program promotes awareness of health services by targeting at-risk immigrants living in the high-poverty and high-seroprevalence neighborhoods.

The outreach team visits African businesses and shops, restaurants and cafes, community centers and places of worship, associations and community gatherings in all five boroughs. Outreach is conducted in English, French, Fulani, Wolof, Bambara, and Mandingo. Through peer-to-peer contacts they provide multilingual health information, free condoms, referrals to HIV testing at African Services, and information about our food pantry, ESL classes and legal services.

African Services' outreach team plays a critical role in networking with newly-arrived immigrants, maintaining a dialogue on HIV in the community, and fostering familiarity and trust with our agency and staff. They have opened doors to cooperation with a range of African community leaders and health care providers alike, who are aware of the need for culturally relevant outreach, information, care and support.