Our Mission: Prevent the spread of HIV and provide support for people living with HIV/AIDS in Maine.
The Frannie Peabody Center
Phone Number
view phone(207)363-3558
Address
647 US Route 1, Suite 303 Meadowbrook Plaza York, Maine, United States 03909URL
website: http://www.peabodycenter.org/
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Program Description
Program Information
Services Offered: Syringe Access. Support/Counseling. HIV Testing. HCV Services. Outreach to Sex Workers.
Frannie Peabody Center is the largest community-based HIV/AIDS services organization in Maine, providing prevention services for at-risk groups and direct services for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Frannie Peabody Center provides HIV prevention services from our office at One Spring Street in downtown Portland. Services include:
• anonymous, rapid HIV testing
• individual and group outreach
• community education on HIV prevention
Our staff and volunteers provide HIV prevention and testing services to reduce the risk of HIV in Southern Maine (ME). Our prevention staff members are always happy to talk with groups or individuals in need of testing, group education, or supportive counseling.
Anonymous HIV Antibody Testing
We provide free, rapid, anonymous HIV testing to a wide array of people at risk, including: GLBTQ youth and adults, people who use drugs or alcohol, women who have multiple partners or partners who are at risk, racial and ethnic minorities, people who have been incarcerated, people who have previously had a sexually transmitted disease (STD), and many others.
Walk-in HIV testing is available at our prevention office in Portland, Wednesdays between 12pm and 6pm. We also offer rapid testing by appointment and other special walk-in events during the year.
For more information about testing times and places,
visit our Testing Services page or call 749-6818.
Individual and Group Outreach
We conduct face-to-face outreach, distribute condoms, and refer people to our anonymous HIV testing or other services.
Through collaborative efforts with local businesses and other social service agencies, we can extend our outreach to engage high-risk individuals. Our outreach workers have a regular presence at the following popular bars and clubs:
Blackstones
The Front Porch
Mainestreet
Styxx
Frannie Peabody Center supports Go Groups by offering gay, bisexual and questioning men an opportunity to socialize outside of bars. Some activities include hiking, movie nights, game nights, pot lucks, discussion groups, a volleyball league, lending library, and book club. HIV/AIDS information and safer sex supplies are always available.
Community Education
The public funding we receive is for services and education for the highest-risk populations. However, we consider it an important part of our work to provide education and testing for those who want to know how to protect themselves from HIV. These activities are supported solely by fundraising.
Community HIV education is available to employers, schools, community organizations, religious groups, and other agencies. Frannie Peabody Center provides a comprehensive presentation that includes health promotion topics and information about counseling and testing. We will work with you to adapt the presentation to meet the needs of your group.
To schedule a speaker for your group contact:
prevention at 871-0216
Privacy Information
Our Privacy document is available for download here.
Frannie Peabody Center offers free, anonymous HIV testing in Cumberland and York counties. No blood is drawn. We use OraQuick© oral swab tests and results are available in under one hour. Testing is available during our weekly walk-in hours, by appointment, and at special events during the year.
We work closely with those testing positive for HIV or other infections, ensuring appropriate referrals are made and that compassionate, high-impact care is provided.
For more information about testing call 749-6818 or E-mail [email protected]. (Information contained in voicemail messages and emails is confidential.)
Testing Times and Locations
Cumberland County
Wednesdays
12:00pm – 6:00pm
One Spring Street, Portland
Walk-in or call 749-6818 for more information
As part of our mission, Frannie Peabody Center is committed to meeting the housing and residential needs of people living with HIV/AIDS in Maine. HAVEN, Frannie Peabody Center’s statewide housing assistance program, provides rental subsidies, short-term housing assistance, and residential care to low-income people living with HIV/AIDS. Frannie Peabody Center proudly partners with Shalom House, the City of Portland, and Maine’s Ryan White-funded medical and case-management agencies to ensure access to housing services for people living with HIV/AIDS statewide.
Importance of Housing
Stable, affordable housing is fundamental for people with HIV/AIDS to receive life-saving medical and support services and decrease the likelihood of exposing others to infection.
According to The National AIDS Housing Coalition, there is “strong empirical support for a shift in the HIV risk paradigm, away from a focus on individual behaviors only, to a focus on risky contexts such as homelessness and unstable housing as structural factors that must be addressed in order to effectively prevent and treat HIV.”
A policy statement from the 2006 National AIDS Housing Research Summit stated that improvements in an individual’s housing situation have “been found to be directly related to improved access to health care, higher levels of ART [antiretroviral therapy] adherence, and lowered viral loads. Over time, the provision of direct housing services has been found to predict entry into medical care, entry into care that meets clinical guidelines, and continuity of appropriate medical care and services.”1
Housing Assistance
- People living with HIV/AIDS may be eligible for short-term financial assistance with rent, mortgage, and utility payments to help maintain stable housing.
- Rental subsidies are available through the Tenant-based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program.
Eligibility
HAVEN assistance is available for low-income Maine residents living with HIV/AIDS who meet application requirements and income guidelines.
People utilizing U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) assistance, such as, Section 8, Shelter + Care, SHP and SRO Mod Rehab, are not eligible for HAVEN services.
Contact Information
If you are interested in short-term financial assistance for housing expenses, contact your case manager to complete the appropriate paperwork.
If you do not have a case manager and live in Cumberland County, contact us at:
774-6877, ext. 120
or toll-free, 866-439-8075
In York County:
251-4931
or toll-free, 866-439-8075
Outside Cumberland and York counties, contact your local AIDS Service Organization (ASO). Locate an ASO in your area.
Frannie Peabody Center offers professional, primary case management services to people living with HIV/AIDS in Cumberland and York counties. Our trained case managers provide referrals, transportation, coordination of care, support, and advocacy to help clients meet their medical, psychological, legal, job training, and physical needs.
The following are available to clients through their case managers:
- one-on-one support
- assistance with applications for housing, social service, and entitlement programs
- help to address legal, mental health, and substance use issues
- risk-reduction counseling to prevent the spread of HIV
- emergency assistance for dental care, eye care, and other medical expenses (income guidelines and annual cap apply)
- emergency assistance with rent, mortgage, and utility payments (income guidelines and an annual cap apply)
- rental subsidies (income guidelines and rent standards apply; wait list time varies).
Case management services are available at our offices, clients’ homes, Portland’s Positive Health Care clinic, hospitals, nursing homes, correctional facilities, and in appropriate community settings.
Many of our case managers have a Masters Degree in Social Work. Others have years of equivalent experience working with people living with HIV/AIDS. All staff members receive intensive training upon hire and continuing education and professional development opportunities throughout their employment at Frannie Peabody Center.
If you are living with HIV/AIDS in Cumberland or York counties and do not have a case manager, use the phone numbers below to schedule an intake assessment.
Cumberland County residents
774-6877, ext. 120
Toll-free: 866-851-2437
York County residents
251-4931
Toll-free: 866-439-8075
Frannie Peabody Center does not discriminate against any individual on the basis of age, race, gender, national origin, marital status, religious preference, political affiliation, sexual orientation, mental health status, substance abuse history, HIV status or disability.
If you are in need of emergency medical attention, do not depend on communications from this website. Contact your case manager by phone, call your local crisis line or go to your local emergency room.
Cumberland County crisis line: 774-HELP (4357)
York County crisis line: 800-660-8500