Freddy Melendez
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Born: Puerto Rico
Currently resides: Manhattan
Client: since 1999
Peer counselor: since May 2003
"It's been special to be a peer counselor here because it's
where I started to recover myself." |
How are you involved with GMHC?
I'm a client and I’m one of the peer counselors.
What was it about GMHC that brought you here?
I think part of it was, geographically, I had moved from the Bronx
to the City. I'd heard some positive things about GMHC and their
services, that they had a broader range of services.
What was your situation like when you came to GMHC?
When I came to GMHC, I was searching for some help around substance
abuse issues that I had. That was the reason I came. I also wanted
a support group around HIV. It was important for me because I don't
think I was one of the people who handled the news of having HIV
very well. I felt like I needed support around that so I could deal
with it in a more productive way.
What kind of services have you used here since you became a client?
I've used the Meals Program, the computer room, Prevention Case
Management (PCM), the support groups; I've come to the Christmas
parties a couple of times. One time I accessed Legal.
What is Prevention Case Management like, from your point of view as both a client
and a peer counselor?
Prevention Case Management is a twelve week program for people
who have a history of substance abuse and who want to deal with
HIV-related issues. When I first started to attend the groups, which
met three times a week (a Monday group, and then individual sessions),
education became part of it. I remember sitting in the group that
I attended and thinking how incredibly knowledgeable the person
who was running the group was, in regards to substance abuse and
HIV and the whole recovery process. He gave excellent, excellent
feedback. It's one of the things I really remember from when I was
going to the group. It's been special to be a peer counselor here
because it's where I started to recover myself. Being able to work
here part-time, where I can try to assist other people to better
themselves and their situation — it's awesome. For me, it's
really rewarding because I can empathize with most of the clients.
I've been there. It's just fulfilling.
How do you think your own experience helps you when you're working as a
counselor?
I think it lets people know that recovery is possible, because they see somebody else right
in front of them who has gone through what they're about to go through or what they're
going through. I think peers are like role models for clients. A lot of people gripe about
people who don't have the actual experience that they're going through: how could they
tell them what to do if they’ve never been in those shoes? So I think the peer really helps
a lot. When I sit in groups — I don't run groups, I sit in groups with the facilitator and co-
facilitate — it helps me probably just as much as it helps the clients. I can see where I was,
and I give people some feedback and some advice and share my own experience with
them.
What happens at the end of the twelve week program?
Because of the model we use, the stages of change model, it's really
about meeting the client where they're at. We develop a service
plan for the clients, and help them actually set their own specific
goals. We try to focus on specific behavioral targets, so we can
help them through adherence to medication and stuff like that. But
we work in steps with them. Eventually, what we want is for them
to become abstinent [from substances], but if that's not where they're
at, we try to meet them where they're at. We use a harm-reduction
model.
How do you balance being both a client and a peer counselor?
I utilize the computer room, or the library; I still have meals upstairs and I use the Theatre
Desk. I also access massage and yoga sometimes. Because I'm working with the
population that I'm working with, it can be stressful. So one of the ways that I relieve that
stress is that sometimes on my lunch break I'll sign up for a massage or have a nice meal
upstairs.
What else would you like people to know about your involvement with GMHC?
Before I became a peer counselor I was just somebody looking for support, and basically
found it. The reception that I got when I first came here to register was very welcoming,
very friendly. People were really supportive; people were interested in helping me. That
was probably the thing that made me most comfortable, that people were willing to assist
where they're needed. What I do now as a peer is a way for me to give back some of the
things I found here at GMHC. It gives me something to feel good about all around.
What do you do in your spare time?
I'm a big tennis fanatic; I play tennis a lot. That is the thing that I love to do the most. It
gets me completely out of myself in a healthy way. When I'm off on the court playing
tennis, I don't think about anything. At the same time I'm getting physical exercise, so
it's really healthy. And I hang out with friends, go bowling, and go to the movies.
October 28, 2003
© 2003 Gay Men's Health Crisis
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