AIDS Science Day: IFRB Presentations

On April 22, the Family Connection program staff participated in the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) AIDS Science Day held at the Omni Hotel in New Haven, CT. Social Workers Hans Sherrod and Priscilla Rodriguez manned our informational booth, greeting and informing individuals on Family Connections and CFS programs and services.

Family Support Workers Roxanne Reyes-Velez and Diana Cruz also created a poster board session on the Individual Family Resource Book (IFRB). The IFRB allows a child, parent and/or family the ability to honor past and current relationships, identifying formal/informal networks, and develop resources to meet their challenging needs resulting in necessary dialogues for permanency planning. The IFRB is a therapeutic approach that has theoretical support, including Reminiscent and Expressive Theory, Neurobiological Brain Implications and Trauma Integration, resulting in significant benefits for participants.

Team Leader Audra Holmes-Greene attended breakout sessions and networked through the crowd. It was a day packed with information. Many providers visited the booth and poster session. Providers, as well as consumers, were impressed with the IFRB process. They liked the idea of documenting family history with vital records, community information, as well as the family tree process. They were also impressed with the materials used to create the IFRB. Audra Holmes-Greene and Roxanne Reyes-Velez had the opportunity to meet people across cultures and countries. They both spoke to women from Africa interested in replicating the IFRB in their programs and communities. Many other requests for the IFRB training were made. Family Connections staff shined like a bright light while networking and educating individuals on the CFS process.