PALS (Peer Alliance for Living Safely) is an HIV risk reduction and HIV testing program provided by AIDS-Related Community Services (ARCS). PALS teaches African- American and Latina women how important it is to get tested for HIV. Women then reach out through their social networks to encourage their friends and family to get tested too.

PALS can provide HIV prevention education, risk reduction and counseling to women who are:

• African-American, Hispanic or other minority women.
• Aged 18-45 (childbearing age).
• Westchester County residents.
• HIV-Positive or HIV-Negative, but at high risk of infection.
• Women should also have a viable way to be reached (home phone, cell phone or email address) and speak and understand English.

Download our brochure for women (PDF).

If you are a service provider looking to link with PALS, download this brochure (PDF).

Women at High Risk for HIV/AIDS

High risk characteristics include women who are:

• Substance users.
• Partners of substance users.
• Involved in the sex trade.
• Having sex with multiple partners.
• Involved in domestic violence situations.
• Homeless.

PALS can also help any minority woman who has expressed concerns about HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and/or other sexually transmitted infections.

Help us educate you about the need for HIV testing by calling a PALS outreach worker. PALS focuses on Westchester residents, and we can be reached at ARCS’ Hawthorne or Mount Vernon locations. PALS empowers women to advocate for their own health care. We regularly make appropriate referrals to women in need of additional care.

What you need to know about HIV and AIDS

• There is still no cure for HIV or AIDS.
• Prevention is the best approach.
• Sharing needles is as risky as unprotected sex.
• It doesn’t matter who you are: everyone is at risk for HIV!

What you need to know about HIV testing

• It is Safe.
• It is Painless.
• It is Confidential.
• It is FREE.
• It only takes 20 minutes for them to get their results.

You can find us at the Mosaic Center, at our Hawthorne Headquarters, or we'll come to where you are and where you feel the most comfortable!
137 South 4th Avenue

Hawthorne, NY 10532

Phone: (914) 345-8888
Fax: (914) 785-8299

Mount Vernon, NY 10550
Phone: (914) 699-1025
Fax: (914) 699-1621

Want a confidential HIV test?
ARCS uses the oral OraSure test kits, which give you your results in 20 minutes. For more info, see our HIV Testing page.