Ryan White/HIV Services
Providing substance abuse and support services for persons infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Ryan White Services

Liberation Programs' Ryan White Services offers a wide variety of clinical and counseling services to people with HIV or AIDS and substance abuse issues.

We provide comprehensive care and success is based on the achievement of individual milestones.

We believe in tailoring all treatment programs to individual client's strengths, needs, abilities and preferences.

Our multi-disciplinary team of competent and caring professionals is well-versed in treating a myriad of issues related to HIV/AIDS and substance abuse.

The program is named after Ryan White, a hemophiliac boy who contracted
AIDS through a blood transfusion in 1984. Before his death in 1990 at the age of 18, he became a prominent advocate for people suffering from AIDS and for AIDS education.

Treating Substance Abuse and HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS patients who achieve sobriety realize many benefits.

• Their illness tends to stabilize and viral load numbers tend to decrease.
• They are better able to manage their medication.
• Attendance at medical appointments improves.
• Doctors are reluctant to prescribe medication unless the patient is clean & sober.

All of these factors help the patient maintain a healthier lifestyle and this sometimes results in a stabilization of the illness.

Clinical Services

• Assessments
• Evaluations
• Counseling - Ryan White Clients at Liberation Programs have two counselors, a primary counselor and a Ryan White Counselor who focuses on substance abuse and medical issues.
• Individual, Group and Family Counseling
• Outpatient
• Residential
• Methadone Maintenance
• Priority Access to Our Treatment Facilities

Facts about HIV/AIDS

• The first case of HIV/AIDS was discovered on June 5, 1981 in Los Angeles, CA.
• HIV can be transmitted through unprotected sex, the sharing of needles, and to babies born to women with HIV.
• HIV can not be spread by insect bites or stings, on toilet seats, or through
  everyday contact with individuals infected with HIV/AIDS.
• Last year an estimated 5 million new HIV infection occurred worldwide. This is approximately 14,000 new cases each day.
  
• Approximately 40,000 new cases of HIV infections occur in the United States
  each year. Of these cases, 70% are men and 30% are women.
• 610,000 children under the age of 15 died last
  year from HIV/AIDS associated illnesses.
• It is estimated that the annual number of AIDS related deaths in the
  United States has dropped approximately 70% from 1995 to 2002

Referrals
Once a client is enrolled in a substance abuse program, referrals are
made to primary medical clinics and case management agencies.

What is HIV?
HIV is a viral infection caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The virus gradually destroys the immune system by infecting the T-cells, and leaving the body open to infections. Symptoms of HIV may not appear for 10 years or more, but it can be transmitted to others during the symptom-free period.

What is AIDS?
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and is the final most serious stage of HIV. Individuals with AIDS usually have less than 200 T-cells per cubic millimeter of blood. They may also have at least one of the more than two dozen AIDS-related conditions as a result of HIV's attack on the immune system.

What are the symptoms of HIV/AIDS?
Early symptoms of HIV infection include:

• Fever - Swollen Glands
• Rash - Headaches
• Loss of appetite - Sore muscles/joints
  

Individuals who develop further symptoms, may experience:

• Persistent, enlarged lymph nodes
• Excessive fatigue
• Severe weight loss
• Frequent fevers
• Night sweats
• Chronic diarrhea
• Mouth lesions
• Rashes
• Joint stiffness
• Bone pain
• Blurred vision
• Memory loss
• Repeated infections.

Admissions, Information & Diagnostic Services

Macedonia AIDS Ministries (Norwalk)
Thursday 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Bridgeport Community Health Center
Thursday 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Stamford Health System
Wednesday 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Bridgeport Hospital Immunology Clinic
Tuesday 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM