Tools for Access Fact Sheet: Incarcerated People

FACT SHEET

incarcerated people living with HIV and Viral Hepatitis Co-infection

BARRIERS • P risoners HIV/AIDS Support Action Network (PASAN) is a Toronto-based community AIDS Service Organization that formed in 1991 in response to HIV/AIDS in Canada’s correctional facilities.

• P ASAN strives to provide prisoners and ex-prisoners, youth in custody and members of their family community development educational tools, support, and harm reduction strategies related to HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C in Ontario, with the overall goal to create social change.

• I n 2011, PASAN released their second edition of Pros & Cons: A Guide to Creating Successful Community-based HIV-AIDs Programs for Prisoners, a guide that provides comprehensive background information on Canada’s correctional facilities, as well as ideas and strategies to assist in the development of accessible and community-based HIV/AIDS services for people in prison.

People who are in prison or people who have been in prison and who are living with HIV face several barriers accessing treatment and support services.

These barriers could be found in the guide: • C hapter one, Preparing for Prison Work, discusses and provides an excellent overview of the diverse system barriers that are faced by people in prison who are living with HIV and/or HCV, in particular: – People who use drugs – Women – Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered communities – R acialized communities, including Black, African and Caribbean prisoners – Aboriginal communities.

The guide can be downloaded at: http://www.pasan. org/Publications/Pros_&_Cons-2nd_Ed_2011.pdf

TOOLS FOR ACTION Below is a list of actions you can take as people who have been or are incarcerated and living with HIV and/or Viral Hepatitis co-infection, as a service provider working with prisoners and/or ex-prisoners, as a researcher or policymaker, or an allied member of the community.

Prisoners HIV/AIDS Support Action Network (PASAN) is a Toronto-based community AIDS Service Organization that formed in 1991 in response to HIV/AIDS in Canada’s correctional facilities. PASAN strives to provide prisoners and ex-prisoners, youth in custody and members of their family community development educational tools, support, and harm reduction strategies related to HIV/ AIDS and Hepatitis C in Ontario, with the overall goal to create social change.

I n 2011, PASAN released their second edition of, Pros & Cons: A Guide to Creating Successful Community-based HIV-AIDs Programs for Prisoners, a guide that provides comprehensive background information on Canada’s correctional facilities, as well as ideas and strategies to assist in the development of accessible and communitybased HIV/AIDS services for people in prison.

Several tools and courses of action to get involved could be found in the guide: • C hapter two, Getting Started, offers tools for community-based health professionals by providing a walkthrough of the potential opportunities for program development. The chapter provides steps to guide health professionals and providers throughout the program development process, including how to prepare agencies to do the work, how to make contact with the institution, and how to gain security clearance.

At the end of the chapter, suggested further reading material is listed.

• C hapter three, Program Development-Prevention Education, Outreach, Care, Treatment and Support, outlines strategies and tools on how to develop programs that support accessible HIV/HCV prevention education and outreach services within the challenging prison environment. In addition, the chapter highlights the unique supportive services that people living with HIV and/or HCV in prison require, as well as proposes recommendations for outreach workers to address these needs.

• C hapter four, Client Support, examines ways in which agencies could provide client support. The two main specific strategies discussed in the chapter are communication and advocacy work. The chapter provides client-system advocacy guidelines, methods of having client needs met and samples of advocacy letters. Lastly, a list of support services that may be requested and required by clients are provided, as well as ways to develop policies and practices for these types of requests.

• C hapter five, Release Support-Before, During, and After, provides several services and supports that are available for prisoners soon to be released. Strategies to help agencies become more accessible to the unique needs of prisoners are outlined, as well as ways in which agencies could provide assistance to clients throughout the reintegration process and facilitate continued use of services.

The guide can be downloaded at: http://www.pasan.org/Publications/Pros_&_Cons-2nd_Ed_2011.pdf

The Canadian Treatment Action Council is Canada’s national civil society organization led by and for people living with HIV and viral Hepatitis co-infection focusing on access to treatment, care and support. www.ctac.ca • www.facebook.com/CTAC.CCSAT • twitter.com/CTAC_CCSAT 555 Richmond St. W. Suite 612, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3B1 • 1-877-237-2822