thePULSEChristina Lombardo
AIDS Project Worcester’s Christina Lombardo battles discrimination and stigma with HIV education and outreach.
Lombardo oversees the prevention services that APW offers to the GLBT community and to at-risk children and youth. She also directs the organization’s community education program, which provides information about HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections [STIs] and about options for reducing the risk for such health complications.
Lombardo is passionate about her work. “I think it’s very important work to do,” she says. “At times there are discrimination and stigma attached to HIV, but part of my work is to eliminate some of that.”
As an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Social and Rehabilitatio n Services at Assumption College , Lombardo interned at APW. She has since earned her Master’s Degree in Public Health from University of Connecticut and has been working in the field for about five years. “I’ve now been back at APW for about a year and a half,” she says. “I came back because I love the work and I love being in the community. I am frequently out working with different people, in different locations, and that’s one of the best aspects.” APW staffers wear badges that indicate where they work when they drop in at various nightlife locations around the city. They are there to answer questions, provide condoms and other prevention materials, and to show their commitment to the community. “We are in the community several nights a week,” Lombardo explains.
Lombardo also organizes the GLBT social groups that are held at Vibes on Water Street from 6 to 8 p.m. The men’s group meets every Thursday, the transgender group every Sunday, and the women’s group on Wednesdays. “We’ve gotten really great feedback on the groups,” she says. “We’ve been able to connect people with care. We also run a program called Popular Opinion Leader, where we train people in the community on HIV 101, STIs and transmissions, and on how they can have conversations with others about reducing their levels of risk.”
Also a co-chair of the Worcester Pride Association, a community-based committee that plans the annual Pride Festival, Lombardo is very active outside of work. “I’m very concerned about women’s health issues as well,” she explains. “I work with the YWCA Daybreak program and with Planned Parenthood.”
Last year, she attended the March for Women’s Lives in Washington D.C. with about 15 other people from the community and she is hoping to remain politically active.
When asked what brings her to work every day, Lombardo answers, “I see myself doing this for the rest of my life. The need keeps me here, there’s always something new and exciting and innovative.”
Lombardo is dedicated to APW and to the community she serves. Her work has touched lives all over Central Massachusetts. “I would say that there are days when I go through and don’t realize the differences I’m making,” she says. “But there are some days when something is said or done that makes me realize that a small difference is being made.”
APW offers free, confidential HIV testing Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rapid testing is also available; preliminary results are available in 20 minutes. “I can’t express how important it is for people to get tested for HIV,” Lombardo says. APW is located at 85 Green Street in Worcester. They accept drop-ins any time during regular business hours. They can be contacted at (508) 755- 3773.
