The nonprofit organization began as a volunteer effort during the AIDS epidemic.
From Co-County Wellness Services
It’s been 40 years since Co-County Wellness began working as a support services organization serving Berks County. The agency is celebrating 40 years in public health in conjunction with World AIDS Day this year, with an annual event, “Raise a Glass in Remembrance,” honoring those lost to HIV/AIDS. The event is being held at The Inn at Centre Park on Monday, Dec. 1.
Co-County Wellness Services was born from a desperate call for help. That phone call in 1985 came from a mother who was looking for local resources to help her son, who had moved back home and was dying of AIDS. The world was dealing with an AIDS crisis — cities, towns, and small communities like Berks and Schuylkill County were reeling with the lack of services and support organizations to handle what was happening.
That call began the formation of a network of diverse volunteers from the community, including clergy, medical providers, business professionals, community activists, Persons Living with AIDS (PLWAs), and persons affected by AIDS. The volunteers formed a network of support for PLWA and their significant others called Berks AIDS Health Crisis (BAHC). This would become the framework of the nonprofit organization that has served in the space of public health for 40 years and is known today as Co-County Wellness Services.
In 1988, as a program unit of Reading Urban Ministries, Berks AIDS Health Crisis became one of the first AIDS Service Organizations in Pennsylvania to secure funding. With a part-time executive director and one case manager, they served 31 clients in just the first few months.
By the early 90s, the AIDS epidemic had taken hold globally and in Berks County. BAHC became an independent agency, under the name of Berks AIDS Network (BAN), and purchased its current facility at 429 Walnut St. in Reading. When HIV+ numbers in Berks surpassed 1k, BAN began a program focused on educating youth about HIV prevention with a grant they received from the Red Cross in 1995. That program reached 18 Berks County school districts by the close of that year.
BAN became a member agency of the United Way of Berks County in 1996, using the funding to continue school-based prevention education programs. In the late 90s, the organization expanded with the formation of Schuylkill Wellness Services [SWS] in Pottsville, increasing its reach to more people living with HIV and AIDS and providing prevention services. SWS began receiving support from Schuylkill County United Way in 1999. Additional private funding provided HIV counseling and testing services in both the Reading and Schuylkill locations, and free, confidential, and anonymous HIV testing, thanks to secured contracts with the Pennsylvania Department of Health [PA DOH].
In 2003, the organization changed its name to Co-County Wellness Services to better reflect its mission to improve public health through service, education, and advocacy. Berks AIDS Network and Schuylkill Wellness Services officially became program units of Co-County Wellness Services (CCWS).
By 2014, there was another health crisis impacting our community. CCWS met with fellow stakeholders and community partners to address teen birth rates in the City of Reading and Berks County that were more than double the national average. Co-County Wellness Services became the backbone organization for the teen pregnancy prevention initiative, Berks Teens. Since its formation, birth rates in the county have decreased by 59.3% and dropped by 61.4% in the city.
During the global pandemic, CCWS evolved and shifted again to address the needs of the community, as they were tapped by the County of Berks to handle contact tracing and case investigation for COVID-19. They also worked with the county to set up a temporary call center that assisted with vaccination appointments.
“We have answered the call, literally, in the name of public health in our community for 40 years,” said Carolyn Bazik, executive director of CCWS. “And I’m very proud of the work we’ve done. So this is a celebration of the many milestones and the successes we’ve been a part of through our work, as well as the roadblocks and obstacles along the way. We’ve had tremendous support with our community partners and stakeholders, and we continue to evolve to meet the needs of our community. It’s humbling work, but each and every one of us at CCWS and Berks Teens believes in our mission and the impact of what we do.”
Today, Co-County Wellness Services is a nonprofit public health organization dedicated to helping people with HIV and AIDS, educating and engaging youth through comprehensive sexuality education, and meeting the needs of our ever-changing community. Its clinic provides both HIV and STI testing, it provides HIV case management, education, and prevention services, and continues to support decreasing teen birth rates through education and engagement.
With its prevention, screening, testing, and care services, it reaches more than 9,000 people a year. In the last year, over 3,545 hours of Care Services provided client-centered case management. Over 83% of its clients live below the poverty level, with 65% majority insured by Medical Assistance and/or Medicare. All of its services remain free and confidential without discrimination in regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, medical condition, disability, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.
At the commemoration of World AIDS Day on Monday, Dec. 1, Co-County Wellness Service will recognize and celebrate the milestones and achievements of the last four decades of service. In recognition of World AIDS Day, City of Reading Mayor Eddie Moran has announced that City Hall will be illuminated red on Monday, Dec. 1, as “a public show of solidarity, remembrance, and continued support for those affected by HIV/AIDS.” In addition, Senator Judy Schwank will be presenting Co-County Wellness Services with a Senate Citation in honor of its 40th anniversary.
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Source: bctv