The name of the ex-offender in this article has been changed to protect his privacy.

You have been incarcerated for 10 years and are about to be released back into the community.  You have HIV and Hepatitis C.  You also have no place to go.

These were the circumstances John faced 14 months ago when he was released from the Rhode Island State Prison after spending nearly a decade there for sexual assault.  During his final months of incarceration, however, John learned about Project Bridge, a program that has kept him healthy and out of prison for over a year now.

Project Bridge began in 1996 through funding from a federal Ryan White CARE (Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency) Act Special Project of National Significance research grant.  It was developed as a model program aiming to ease HIV-positive offenders' transitions back into society by providing them with case management to stabilize them in the community and to establish a continuity of medical care for their HIV.

HIV-positive offenders receive medical care while incarcerated in Rhode Island from the Miriam Hospital in Providence and, because of Project Bridge, they are able to see the same doctor after they are released.

"You don't have to explain so much," John said about being able to continue his medical care with Dr. Josiah Rich, who works with Project Bridge treating both offenders and ex-offenders.  "He's been following up on me since prison," he said.  "Not just HIV--he takes care of all of my needs." 

"[Dr. Rich] is a medical gentleman," John said.

Taking Advantage of a Promising Program

Toward the end of John's stay in prison, Dr. Rich and other medical staff recommended that he become involved with Project Bridge.

"They explained to me about the program, how it functioned and how it could benefit me in general," John said.  "The whole nine yards."

Because he had no place to go when he left prison and needed medical treatment for his HIV, John decided to enroll in Project Bridge, which helped ease his mind about re-entering society.

"It's confusing and it makes you feel like there's nothing out there," John said about release from prison being homeless and HIV-positive.

"The most important thing to me [about the program] is the treatment itself," John said.

Before the issue of medical treatment could be addressed, however, the social worker and outreach worker team that had been assigned to John had to deal with his most pressing need: housing.

"They had to get me a place to stay," said John, who was sent to Amos House, a shelter in Providence where he has been living ever since.

John, who has been involved with human services in the past and has worked as a bus driver, started volunteering to clean, hand out clothing to the poor and translate Spanish to English at Amos House as soon as he arrived there.

"[I volunteered] seeing that I was going to be there and there was a need for people to work," said John, whose responsibilities have since been elevated to those of a volunteer supervisor.

"The boss is proud of me," said John.  "I've turned the place all around."

Getting Ex-Offenders Back on Their Feet

According to the 55-year-old, the confidence he exudes has been developed through his involvement with Project Bridge.  "I feel like I have accomplished a lot with Project Bridge," he said.  "It has given me self-endurance, self-motivation."

When John first became involved with the 18-month program, he was visiting the office almost daily to consult with his social worker and outreach worker, he said, noting that he was paranoid when he was first released and had difficulty planning out each day. 

"They've been there for me," John said of his social and outreach workers.  "[They] have kept me going, keeping my appointments," he said about the team members who make appointments for him, call him to remind him about them and arrange for taxicab transportation for him.

While Project Bridge still handles his medical treatment needs, over time, John has become less dependent on the program to get him through each day.  With only four months left in Project Bridge, he has been trying to become more independent so that he will not be lost when his involvement in the program ceases.

"I [am doing] things on my own so that I won't miss [Project Bridge]," John said.  "Once that crutch is taken, [some people] fall down," he added.  "I don't want to go through that."

Staying Healthy, Staying Out of Prison

Now, John sees others at Amos House who are HIV-positive and have mental health problems and realizes how lucky he is to be supported by a program like Project Bridge.

"It scares me because I see myself what they're going through," John said.  "They were so healthy [when they first arrived at Amos House] and they have become like vegetables [as their disease has progressed]."

In contrast, John is healthy, with low viral loads, and has not yet had to take any medication for his HIV or hepatitis C because of the strength of his immune system.  To stay active, John rides his bike and keeps connected to his family by taking the bus to Pawtucket, R.I. each weekend to visit them.

"If it weren't for them, I'd be dead too," said John, who added that both they and Project Bridge have helped him make it through this difficult time in his life. 

With a supportive family, good health and over a year spent in the community without becoming reincarcerated, John is a case study in how these connections can succeed, said Project Bridge Outreach Worker, Judy Asermely.

"Most people don't make it due to drugs," Asermely said pointing out that in her two years with Project Bridge, only six people out of approximately 50 that she worked with have successfully completed the program.

John is a different story though.

"John feels comfortable with his life right now," said Asermely, who has worked with him throughout his involvement with the program.  "He's safe.  He has housing."

John's ability to get his life together and not become reincarcerated reinforces Asermely's belief that the work she does matters.

"It makes me feel like I'm doing my job," Asermely said.  "[It makes me feel] like this program is working; it's worthwhile for us to be here."

And those who have utilized Project Bridge, like John, can attest to the program's worthiness.

"Lost--that's the word that comes to my mind instantly," said John when asked where he would be without Project Bridge.  "It would be a disaster.  [I wouldn't] know where to go, what to do."

Resources:

To learn more about Project Bridge, call (401) 455-6879