Under the moniker of prevention services, Gandara works for the continued and improving health of Springfield’s minority population, as well as an expanding network throughout Western Massachusetts.

On one hand, Gandara provides case management services for people with HIV/AIDS, through both Project Health and the Correction to Community Reintegration program, for clients coming out of prison.

On the other, Gandara’s Prevention Services is helping urban youth empower and educate themselves about important lifestyle choices affecting their health and the health of their communities. Youth Leaders in Action provides a safe space and forum for young people seeking to take control of their lives and help their peers towards a more fulfilling, healthy adulthood. Teens in Hampden County are also involved in a program seeking to break the cycle of tobacco addiction through assisting local boards of health in policing the sale of tobacco to minors.

In addition, Prevention Services is involved in Community Health Planning, spearheading a project in the City of Springfield which will culminate in interventions reduce smoking prevalence in the community.

Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Project

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Massachusetts Affiliate, has funded Gandara Center to provide educational "charlas" in the homes of Latinas in Springfield and Chicopee. Using trained bi-lingual women who have breast cancer to deliver the services, women are taught how to do self-exams, where to go to get cancer screenings, and how to eat healthy foods and cook in a healthy manner to support their own wellness. Gandara also collaborates with other community agency’s to promote cancer support groups and educate the about chronic disease that are all too common in the Hispanic community.

Youth Access to Tobacco

Gandara Center staff carry out youth tobacco compliance checks in Agawam, Chicopee, Hampden, Westfield and West Springfield, as well as the surrounding communities of Blandford, Chester, Granville, Holland, Southwick, Tolland, and Wales.

Teens from communities in that region conduct compliance checks at over 260 stores selling tobacco products. Initially, the checkers were able to purchase tobacco illegally at one-fifth of the stores. Staff works with the Boards of Health, retailers and others in the communities to educate about tobacco and provide strategies to reduce the tobacco sales.

Youth Leadership Development

Gandara trains young people ages 11-15 in All Stars, an evidence-based leadership curriculum. Teens are recruited from the Lower Liberty Heights area, as well as surrounding schools and other agencies.

Participants develop leadership skills to address issues that are important to young people, their peers and their communities. Using art and dramatic presentations to address critical prevention topics such as tobacco, teen pregnancy , HIV and substance use, the teens bring a unique vibrancy to this self-empowering program.

Recently, youth in this program created a mural on the wall of the Bilingual Veterans building.This work brings families, veterans and youth together to improve the face of the neighborhood while learning about a pressing current events issue; the war in Iraq.

Community Health Planning

Gandara has been working in the city of Springfield, on the tobacco-themed Community Health Planning initiative, pulling together various partners such as hospitals, community health centers, community based organizations and other partners, to assess the needs and assets related to specific tobacco-related indicators assigned by the state Department of Public Health. The goal of thisprocess will be to reduce smoking prevalence in the community through addressing areas like the following; providing cessation services in languages other than English, providing education on the negative effects of second-hand smoke to young women who are pregnant and providing education to landlords about the benefits of providing housing that is smoke-free.

Health Education

Gandara brings prevention and education on breast and cervical cancer and cardiovascular disease to Latinas in the Springfield, Chicopee and Holyoke area through the Women’s Health Network, a project of DPH.Health education, targeted to women at risk of these diseases, is delivered in an informal setting, sometimes someone’s home, in an effort to reduce the incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Project Health: HIV/AIDS Case Management

Project Health is an ongoing support program for folks in the North End who are HIV positive.Project Health provides referrals to primary health care and behavioral healthcare, food and emergency fuel assistance, support for applying for social welfare benefits and housing, both for the HIV-positive clients and their caregivers and families.Referrals are also made for legal services for wills, and other legal matters.

Gandara receives funding to provide peer support group for clients who are looking for connection with other consumers and a safe place to discuss shared issues.

Corrections to Community Reintegration Program: HIV Case Management

Virtually identical to Gandara’s Project Health, Corrections to Community provides case management services for HIV/AIDS clients throughout Western Massachusetts coming out of prison. The program serves clients pre and post-release, for up to six months after they are released.Staff focus on making certain the client keeps their medical appointments, assessing their housing needs and linking them to a case management program in their community for on-going care. Clients receive assistance on the CORI and the impact it can have on their housing and job prospects andreferrals to the HIV Law Consortium for legal matters.