Comprehensive Programming Since 1990
SACHR has been a leader in grassroots harm reduction services since the AIDS Crisis ravaged New York City. Seeing the impact of numerous public health emergencies concentrated in the Bronx, SACHR has built its program within the borough with a focus on prioritizing the community first. This perspective has helped us to remain at the forefront of community-based service provision across the United States.
With over 36 years of programming, our agency is used to adapting to new cultural trends, combatting an everchanging drug market, and pushing back on punitive policies to ensure our folks receive a quality of life they deserve. SACHR strives to support our folks that cannot normally access our main agency by bringing the majority of our services to local neighborhoods through our Outreach Initiatives. Please check out the array of services we have below and reach out for more information.
Questions or Concerns? Please Reach out.
Syringe Access Program
Access to and disposal of syringes was the first service provided by SACHR when we opened over 30 years ago. The goal of our Syringe Access Program (SAP) is to provide sterile needles at no cost for injecting drug users. When SACHR began its services in 1990, there was a 60% HIV incidence rate among the city’s 250,000 people who injected drugs. As a result of this and other similar program efforts, the HIV incidence rate in New York City has dropped to under 3% among people who inject drugs. We believe that by implementing proven harm reduction strategies, there may eventually be zero new HIV infections through injection drug use. In addition to HIV prevention, our efforts are focused on continuing the fight to prevent overdose, Hepatitis C, and the stigma that the people we serve face every day.
Programs Include
Syringe Outreach Response Team (SORT)
Outreach
Syringe Exchange
Holistic Health Services
St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction (SACHR) is in itself a sanctuary, a safe haven to come to seek solace and compassion from an often unforgiving world. The Sanctuary within SACHR is a room where participants can find a peaceful place of healing and rest. Auricular acupuncture (NADA protocol) and full-body acupuncture are offered by certified and licensed professionals, free of charge to our participants.
Our belief and experience are that these body-oriented modalities can ignite change within an individual, helping one transition from fear and despair to a place of hope, confidence, and serenity. We begin at the simplest of beginnings: providing effective yet compassionate, human-to-human care.
SERVICES Include
Acupuncture
Ear Seeds
Massage Therapy
Reiki
Moxibustion
cupping
Drug User Health Hub
A central component of the services we provide at SACHR is the Drug User Health Package. It can be best described as a comprehensive set of interventions aimed at addressing the needs of injecting drug users in the South Bronx. The approach is flexible and multilayered and is delivered to the community through outreach teams, community venues, peer overdose responders, licensed social workers, and medical clinicians. SACHR’s Health Hub focuses on addressing the full spectrum of needs. Rather than only dealing with problems after they have arisen, evidence-based prevention strategies that emphasize patient dialogue and respect will be integral to our approach.
Programs Include
HIV TESTING AND TREATMENT
HCV Testing AND TREATMENT
BupRENORPHINE Services
Naloxone Services
wOUND CARE
Overdose Prevention AND EDUCATION
STD TESTS AND SCREENINGS
REFERRALS
Women's Service Unit
The Women’s Services Unit (WSU) is about women helping women. The goal is to create a safe haven where members know that the other women have their back. The WSU helps women take charge of their lives by introducing education and information that strengthens their communication and leadership skills. This includes the Persistent Women Program and Women in Power Group. Persistent Women is a women’s only program that helps participants self-advocate in all their relationships, especially intimate ones.
This program is aimed at anyone who identifies as a woman and engages in high-risk behavior and/or is living with HIV/AIDs. Our goal is to provide women with the resources to empower themselves and self-advocate in their own lives.
Programs Include
DAILY SUPPORT SESSIONS
Persistent Women's Group
Reproductive Health Hub
SEX WORK WELLNESS
Women-Only Outreach
FAMILY SUPPORT WORKSHOPS
Hygienic Supplies Available
MEAL PROGRAM
A healthy diet is key for supporting mental health and improving one's quality of life. Serving over 200 meals per day, SACHR’s Meal Program offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner options every weekday. All of our dishes are prepared daily with fresh ingredients from people in our community! Since 1992, meals have been a part of our essential services. We understand that harm reduction comes in many shapes and forms, which is why we provide meals so our participants can focus on the care they need. Check out the schedule below for when you can receive a meal at our agency!
For more information, read up on our meal program here.
Monday - Friday
Breakfast 9:00 am - 11:00am
Lunch 1:00pm - 3:30pm
Dinner 5:00pm - 6:30pm
Outreach Services
Our Outreach Program works across the South Bronx providing services to those that cannot reach our agency. We believe in a continuum of care so our Outreach Program provides the same services as we do indoors, offering free, non-judgmental access to information and materials that will help preserve your health and well-being. The team provides syringes, alcohol pads, and other supplies to people who inject drugs and are at risk for various infections including HIV and Hep C. No matter the weather, our team is out providing care to those who need it the most.
139th St. and St. Ann’s Ave
Tuesdays : 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Fridays : 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm
148th St. and Bergen Ave
Fridays : 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
Hunt's Point Women's Outreach
Thursdays : 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Behavioral Health Hub
Our Behavioral Health Program meets participants where they are and honors their self-determination by partnering with them to achieve their identified goals. Made up of licensed providers that deliver comprehensive behavioral health services, our clinicians provide psychosocial assessments, individual psychotherapy, group counseling, mindfulness meditation, acupuncture, and stress reduction services. In an effort to extend services outside of the agency, we also provide educational workshops and referrals to psychiatrists. Participants may access mental health services on a walk-in basis or by scheduled appointment.
Groups and Services Include
Anger Management Groups
Mindfulness Groups
On-Site Medical Consultation
Referral Services to other Providers
Workforce development
Historically, the Bronx’s unemployment and poverty rates have been the highest of New York state’s 62 counties. With that in mind, SACHR is proud to debut our new Workforce Development Initiative supported by Hispanic Federation and the Fund for the City of New York.
Through the LUCHA Initiative, participants of SACHR’s general programming will have exclusive access to job readiness courses, financial and computer literacy classes, interview prep, resume building, and will even have their own personal Job Coach to help them navigate the employment landscape. Supporting our community does not stop at providing supplies or case management, it starts at giving people an opportunity to do more.
For more information, please click here.
Classes will be held at our main agency
Tuesdays : 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
wednesdays : 10:o0 am – 2:00 pm
drug checking services
For years, harm reductionists have fought for a safer supply so that our folks know what they are putting in their body. With the rise of adulterants in the market with increasing volatility, SACHR is proud to collaborate with the New York State Department of Health in bringing Drug Checking Services to the Bronx.
More than just test strips, SACHR’s team uses an FT-IR Spectrometer machine to analyze the chemical breakdown of substances. These results are then sent to a lab for confirmation before being communicated to our community because an unsafe supply affects everyone, not just our participants.
This service is open to the larger community and not just our participants so please reach out for more information.
Monday - friday
10:00am - 5:30pm
Overdose Prevention
At SACHR we offer free training to community members and community based organizations to cut the spread of accidental fatal opioid overdoses. We are dedicated to preventing overdoses at all costs and will continue to take the initiative to come up with new interventions like offering on-site Narcan training to all of our program participants. SACHR started the test strip movement in the U.S., teaching drug users how to test their drugs for fentanyl, a powerful opioid, prior to ingestion. If they can detect fentanyl in their drugs, they can make an informed decision.
We believe that an educated consumer is an empowered consumer. Since the introduction of illicitly manufactured fentanyl into the street drug supply fentanyl-related deaths have risen by nearly 700% since 2000 nationwide. As a result of our initial push with offering drug testing strips, it is now standard across the Nation in Harm Reduction Programs and with drug users’ unions in an effort to reduce accidental overdose.
SYRINGE OUTREACH RESPONSE TEAM
The SORT program is an initiative aimed at addressing the proper disposal and safe removal of used syringes found in public spaces. The program focuses on ensuring the health and safety of both the community and the environment by organizing regular clean-up activities and promoting education around safe syringe disposal practices.
The primary objective of SORT is to prevent accidental needlestick injuries and minimize the potential risks associated with improperly discarded syringes, but the program also serves other purposes. SORT not only ensures the removal of hazardous waste from public areas, but also aims to reduce the stigma surrounding drug use and promote a compassionate approach towards individuals struggling with addiction. By addressing the issue of syringe litter in a systematic and educational manner, this program contributes to a cleaner and safer environment for the entire community.
GROUP WORK
SACHR goes beyond the tedious word-talk of groups by developing and organizing interactive social and group dynamic activities that will allow wounds to heal and invite healthier possibilities. Our group work program is a cornerstone of the agency, fostering a sense of belonging and collaboration among its diverse members. Designed to bring people from different backgrounds together, our program creates a supportive and inclusive environment where individuals can develop valuable skills, build meaningful relationships, and contribute to the betterment of the community.
Through a wide range of group activities, workshops, and projects, the program promotes teamwork, communication, and problem-solving abilities. Participants engage in collaborative endeavors that encourage mutual understanding and empathy, transcending societal barriers. By working together towards common goals, members gain a deeper appreciation for diversity and learn to appreciate the strengths and perspectives each person brings to the table.
