About
Times Have Changed, but Our Mission Continues
When Hyacinth, New Jersey’s largest and first HIV service provider, opened its doors in 1985, our mission was to help people dying of HIV/AIDS do so with dignity and support. What a difference 35 years makes!
Today, because of welcome advances in medical treatment and what scientists know about HIV, we’re helping our clients live full, healthy, and productive lives! Our mission is to help people live with HIV, stop the spread of the epidemic, and serve as a critical voice in the public debate surrounding AIDS in New Jersey.
Challenges still exist, and our work is far from over. Our staff of nearly 100 employees and more than 75 volunteers collaborate tirelessly to:
- Stop the spread of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and Hepatitis C through education and prevention strategies;
- Provide wellness and behavioral health services;
- Meet the unique needs of the diverse HIV community (gay, bisexual, transgender, women, addicts) through safe and supportive programs;
- Address stigma, housing challenges, and barriers to care and treatment; and
- Educate lawmakers and lobby for corrective/progressive legislation on HIV-related issues.
While programs change because of funding and client needs, our goals remain the same: to help each individual living with HIV develop the mental and physical strength to live with the disease, manage their sexual health, live life safely with partners, and maintain a treatment regimen that works most successfully for them.
Eight Offices in Seven Cities
Jersey City * Paterson * Plainfield * Trenton * New Brunswick * Newark * West New York
A Message from Hyacinth’s Executive Director
Welcome to Hyacinth! Since 1985, our values and services have demonstrated commitment, leadership, service, and accountability to New Jersey’s HIV community. We stand up for what we believe – and our most fervent belief is that it is beyond time to end this epidemic.
To do so, it will take all of us working together to fight the systems that contribute to the spread of HIV – racism, homophobia, transphobia, and poverty. We also need to improve health literacy among people living with HIV and find better solutions for common concerns, such as adequate housing.
On this website, you’ll find information about HIV/AIDS, STIs, harm reduction programs, and other Hyacinth services and volunteer opportunities. I hope you find the information you need and the right person to contact within the organization if you’d like to learn more!
Thanks for visiting our website! We look forward to partnering with you however we can.
Kathy O’Brien
Hyacinth Executive Director
Leadership
Kathy Ahearn-O’Brien
Executive Director
Axel Torres Marrero
Sr. Director of Public Policy & Prevention
Jodi Riccardi
Sr. Director of Program Development
Johanne Rateau
Director of Regional Services
Rocio Ruiz
Director of Prevention
Rosalind Ford
Director of Behavioral Health
Ann Marie Williams
Director of Development
Alicia Parker
Director of Harm Reduction
Board of Trustees
Linda J. Niedweske, Esq., President
Partner, Niedweske Barber, LLC
Jeri M. Thomas, Vice President
Vice President, Bristol Myers Squibb
Peter Jewell, Vice President Development
Retired
William Hagaman Jr., Treasurer
Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Withum
James Hemm, Assistant Treasurer
Retired
Arjun Channi, Governance Chair
Associate Director of Regulatory Affairs, Sanofi Consumer Healthcare
Angela Amoatey, Member
Counselor, Irvington Public Schools
Brad Arlett, Member
Commercial IT Director, Relypsa, Inc.
Perry Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH, Member
Dean, School of Public Health, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey
Michael McQueeny, Esq., Member
Cannabis Practice Group Chair/Counsel, Foley Hoag LLP
Bruce L. Moskovitz, M.D., Member
Retired
Robert Parkinson, Member
Chief Financial Officer, Turning Point Inc
Pascale Thomas, Member
Vice President, Enterprise Employee Benefits & Well-Being, The Walt Disney Company
Offices and Services
New Brunswick (Middlesex County)
Address
317 George St., Suite 203
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone Number: 732-246-0204
Services Offered
- Wellness Community at Hyacinth
- Community health worker support
- Emergency financial assistance
- Housing placement assistance
- Incarcerated discharge planning
- Psycho-social support services
Plainfield (Union County)
Address
107 Park Ave., 3rd Floor
Plainfield, NJ 07060
Phone Number: 908-755-0021
Services Offered
- Community health worker support
- Emergency financial assistance
- HIV testing
- Incarcerated discharge planning
- MaleBox – Gay/bisexual men’s sexual health education & LGBTQ drop-in center
- Non-medical case management
- PrEP education
- Psycho-social support services
- Wellness Community at Hyacinth
Newark (Essex County)
Address
194 Clinton Ave., Lower Level
Newark, NJ 07108
Phone Number: 862-240-1461
Services Offered
- Community health worker support
- Client legal advocacy program
- Housing placement assistance
- Hyacinth Health & Wellness Clinic
- In-office and mobile HIV testing
- Incarcerated discharge planning
- Individual and group substance abuse counseling
- Medical/non-medical case management
- PrEP education
- Psycho-social programming
- STI testing
- THRIVE – Women’s and men’s sexual health education
- Wellness Community at Hyacinth
Paterson (Passaic County)
Address
100 Hamilton Plaza, 14th Floor
Paterson, NJ 07505
Phone Number: 973-278-7636
Services Offered
- Community health worker support
- In-office and mobile HIV testing
- Individual and group substance abuse counseling
- Non-medical Case Management
- Mobile syringe access program
- PrEP counseling
- Project PAUZE – Gay/bisexual men’s sexual health education & LGBTQ drop-in center
- Psycho-social programming
Trenton (Mercer County)
Address
849 W. State Street
Trenton, NJ 08618
Phone Number: 609-396-8322
Services Offered
- Community health worker support
- Emergency financial assistance
- Gay/bisexual men’s sexual health education
- Harm reduction center
- HIV testing
- LGBTQ drop-in center and safe space
- Non-medical case management
- PrEP counseling
- Psycho-social programming
- STI testing
- Wellness Community at Hyacinth
Jersey City (Hudson County)
Address
48 Fairview Ave.
Jersey City, NJ 07304
Phone Number: 201-432-1134
Services Offered
- Client legal advocacy program
- Community health worker support
- Emergency financial assistance
- Harm reduction & drop-in center
- HIV testing
- Non-medical case management
- Psycho-social programming
- Wellness Community at Hyacinth
Jersey City Living Out Loud (Hudson County)
Address
653-655 Newark Ave., 2nd Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Phone Number: 201-706-3480
Services Offered
- CLEAR – Choosing Life: Empowerment, Action, Results!
- HIV prevention education
- HIV testing
- LGBTQ drop-In center and safe space
- Personalized cognitive counseling
- PrEP education
- Project LOL – Gay/bisexual men’s sexual health education
- Testing Together – Couples HIV counselling and testing
Hyacinth Statewide Services & Administrative Office
Address
317 George St., Suite 203
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone Number: 732-246-0204
West New York (North Hudson County)
Address
440 60th Street, Suite 201
West New York, NJ 07093
Phone Number: 201-472-0985
Services Offered
- Rapid Start Program
- Community Health Worker Support
- Community Case ManagementHousing Placement Assistance
Employment Opportunities
Hyacinth is dedicated to hiring team members from the New Jersey communities we serve. For a complete list of employment opportunities and to submit an application, visit our career site.
The Hyacinth AIDS Foundation is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and will consider all qualified applicants without regard to sex, race, creed or religion, color, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, or veteran, sexual orientation, or marital status.
For Human Resources-related questions, please contact Kathy Ahearn-O’Brien, Executive Director, at [email protected].
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Questions about Hyacinth can be emailed to ([email protected]).
All media inquiries should be directed to Kathy Ahearn-O’Brien ([email protected]) or Axel Torres Marrero ([email protected]).
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