The Albany Damien Center opened in 1988 and was incorporated in 1990 as the first AIDS drop-in center in the United States. Named after Saint Damien of Molokai, who ministered to people with leprosy in the late 1800s, The Damien Center is not a faith-based organization, yet invites persons from all religious and spiritual organizations to participate in helping with Center services.
From November 1990 to September 1998, the Damien Center was located at Grace & Holy Innocents Church on the corner of Robin and Clinton Avenue in Albany. In 1991, the Damien Center saw the need for their services and opened up two satellite locations to help serve people in each region. Schenectady Damien Center was opened in December 1991 at the St. Columba’s Sacred Heart Church and the Troy Damien Center was opened in November 1992 at the Oakwood Ave Presbyterian Church. Unfortunately, by 1994, funding quickly dried up and the centers were forced to separate. The Troy Damien Center was assumed by Troy Area United Ministries (TAUM) and the Schenectady Damien Center was assumed by Schenectady Inner City Ministries (SICM). The Albany Damien Center remained on their own, governed by a group of volunteer Board of Directors and one part time staff.
In September 1998, the Albany Damien Center purchased the property at 12 South Lake Avenue, Albany, NY 12203 which served as the agency headquarters and program site until a fire destroyed the building and its contents 15 years later on August 29, 2013. We relocated to the First Lutheran Church at 646 State Street, Albany, NY, we offered our full range of services without interruption.
On November 6, 2017, The Albany Damien Center moved to our new 26,000 building located at 728 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY, just two blocks down from the former Damien Center. The new building serves as our agency headquarters and offers programs for over 300 people living with HIV and AIDS and community residence utilizing a housing-first model for 22 people living with HIV/AIDS who were homeless. This project is made possible from a $4.3 million grant from OTDA’s Homeless Housing & Assistance Program and funding from the fire insurance settlement and fundraising.
The Albany Damien Center program areas include the Living Room (est. 1988), Smart Meals (2001), PAWS (2003), Housing (2012), MPower! (2014), and Employment Pathways (2018). In 2019, The Capital Region NAMES Project, established in 1991, became the newest program of the Damien Center. The Albany Damien Center serves the upstate New York region in communities located in Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Green, Hamilton, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, and Washington Counties.
The Damien Center also has a full-service pharmacy on-site provided by Town Total Health, a division of Meijer, Inc. Town Total Health provides free medication delivery, assistance with refills, insurance & co-pay assistance, total pack medication packages, helpful pharmacists and personalized medication adherence support.
The Damien Center employs 30 staff members and utilizes over 45 volunteers each year to deliver services in a caring, trauma-informed, grassroots approach. Since 1999, Perry Junjulas, Executive Director and person living with AIDS, has led the organization and has encouraged active participation by people living with HIV/AIDS in all areas of program service delivery.
The Living Room Program provides drop-in programs including HIV+ peer-led access to care, supportive counseling, HIV prevention support groups, holistic therapies (massage, Reiki, spiritual care), HIV/AIDS information resources, computer access, consumer advocacy, and opportunities for social and recreational activities. Smart Meals combines nutrition education with well-balanced nutritious hot meals prepared on site, grocery bags, and food vouchers to local supermarkets. PAWS (Pets are Wonderful Support) provides task, financial, and informational assistance to pet owners living with HIV/AIDS to ensure that they are not separated from their animal companions when they need each other the most. Our Housing Program, helps individuals living with HIV/AIDS gain employment, vocational training, and stable housing. MPower!, provides health and human services and employment supports to our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (LGB) and Transgender Non-Binary (TGNB) community. Employment Pathways provides assistance to persons with HIV and AIDS to return to work and school along with benefits advisement. NY Capital Region NAMES Project Chapter provides HIV education and prevention through the NAMES Project Quilt displays in our upstate NY region.
Our members typically are living in poverty, are unstably housed, have co-morbid health conditions (mental health, substance use disorder, diabetes, hepatitis C, cancer, cardiovascular disease, et.al), and inadequate or nonexistent psychosocial supports. For our members, we become family.
The Damien Center is a unique resource in our Northeastern New York community for people living with and at risk for HIV/STI/hepatitis. We provide programs in a comfortable and supportive HIV+ peer-led environment using a health and wellness education model. Our trauma-informed, client-centered approach addresses the physical, psychological, and environmental impacts on an individual’s overall health. Staff understand the barriers and issues faced by people living with HIV/AIDS and deliver programs utilizing a culturally sensitive, client focused, harm reduction approach. We work to ensure each person has unfettered access to the life enriching treatment and support they deserve, ensuring HIV prevention in the process.
Imagine a place where a hot meal is being prepared for you in the kitchen, a place where you feel a part of a family. Imagine a place where people greet you and warmly ask how you are doing. Imagine a place buzzing with the sounds of conversation and laughter, a place where you’re accepted for who you are. You meet people like yourself whom you can trust to help you learn how to take better care of yourself, because you’ve realized that it’s never too late to be what you might have been.
Welcome to the Albany Damien Center – we’re so glad you’re here!
From November 1990 to September 1998, the Damien Center was located at Grace & Holy Innocents Church on the corner of Robin and Clinton Avenue in Albany. In 1991, the Damien Center saw the need for their services and opened up two satellite locations to help serve people in each region. Schenectady Damien Center was opened in December 1991 at the St. Columba’s Sacred Heart Church and the Troy Damien Center was opened in November 1992 at the Oakwood Ave Presbyterian Church. Unfortunately, by 1994, funding quickly dried up and the centers were forced to separate. The Troy Damien Center was assumed by Troy Area United Ministries (TAUM) and the Schenectady Damien Center was assumed by Schenectady Inner City Ministries (SICM). The Albany Damien Center remained on their own, governed by a group of volunteer Board of Directors and one part time staff.
In September 1998, the Albany Damien Center purchased the property at 12 South Lake Avenue, Albany, NY 12203 which served as the agency headquarters and program site until a fire destroyed the building and its contents 15 years later on August 29, 2013. We relocated to the First Lutheran Church at 646 State Street, Albany, NY, we offered our full range of services without interruption.
On November 6, 2017, The Albany Damien Center moved to our new 26,000 building located at 728 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY, just two blocks down from the former Damien Center. The new building serves as our agency headquarters and offers programs for over 300 people living with HIV and AIDS and community residence utilizing a housing-first model for 22 people living with HIV/AIDS who were homeless. This project is made possible from a $4.3 million grant from OTDA’s Homeless Housing & Assistance Program and funding from the fire insurance settlement and fundraising.
The Albany Damien Center program areas include the Living Room (est. 1988), Smart Meals (2001), PAWS (2003), Housing (2012), MPower! (2014), and Employment Pathways (2018). In 2019, The Capital Region NAMES Project, established in 1991, became the newest program of the Damien Center. The Albany Damien Center serves the upstate New York region in communities located in Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Green, Hamilton, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, and Washington Counties.
The Damien Center also has a full-service pharmacy on-site provided by Town Total Health, a division of Meijer, Inc. Town Total Health provides free medication delivery, assistance with refills, insurance & co-pay assistance, total pack medication packages, helpful pharmacists and personalized medication adherence support.
The Damien Center employs 30 staff members and utilizes over 45 volunteers each year to deliver services in a caring, trauma-informed, grassroots approach. Since 1999, Perry Junjulas, Executive Director and person living with AIDS, has led the organization and has encouraged active participation by people living with HIV/AIDS in all areas of program service delivery.
The Living Room Program provides drop-in programs including HIV+ peer-led access to care, supportive counseling, HIV prevention support groups, holistic therapies (massage, Reiki, spiritual care), HIV/AIDS information resources, computer access, consumer advocacy, and opportunities for social and recreational activities. Smart Meals combines nutrition education with well-balanced nutritious hot meals prepared on site, grocery bags, and food vouchers to local supermarkets. PAWS (Pets are Wonderful Support) provides task, financial, and informational assistance to pet owners living with HIV/AIDS to ensure that they are not separated from their animal companions when they need each other the most. Our Housing Program, helps individuals living with HIV/AIDS gain employment, vocational training, and stable housing. MPower!, provides health and human services and employment supports to our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (LGB) and Transgender Non-Binary (TGNB) community. Employment Pathways provides assistance to persons with HIV and AIDS to return to work and school along with benefits advisement. NY Capital Region NAMES Project Chapter provides HIV education and prevention through the NAMES Project Quilt displays in our upstate NY region.
Our members typically are living in poverty, are unstably housed, have co-morbid health conditions (mental health, substance use disorder, diabetes, hepatitis C, cancer, cardiovascular disease, et.al), and inadequate or nonexistent psychosocial supports. For our members, we become family.
The Damien Center is a unique resource in our Northeastern New York community for people living with and at risk for HIV/STI/hepatitis. We provide programs in a comfortable and supportive HIV+ peer-led environment using a health and wellness education model. Our trauma-informed, client-centered approach addresses the physical, psychological, and environmental impacts on an individual’s overall health. Staff understand the barriers and issues faced by people living with HIV/AIDS and deliver programs utilizing a culturally sensitive, client focused, harm reduction approach. We work to ensure each person has unfettered access to the life enriching treatment and support they deserve, ensuring HIV prevention in the process.
Imagine a place where a hot meal is being prepared for you in the kitchen, a place where you feel a part of a family. Imagine a place where people greet you and warmly ask how you are doing. Imagine a place buzzing with the sounds of conversation and laughter, a place where you’re accepted for who you are. You meet people like yourself whom you can trust to help you learn how to take better care of yourself, because you’ve realized that it’s never too late to be what you might have been.
Welcome to the Albany Damien Center – we’re so glad you’re here!