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Health

The ABCD Health Services Department is committed to keeping low income residents and communities in the greater Boston area healthy through public health promotion and wellness programs, including Title X family planning . Through Health Services program funding, tens of thousands of people each year are able to access sexual reproductive health services. Our rich community partnerships contribute to the success of our efforts.

Health Outreach

Health Outreach

In 2019, we provided 24,841 individuals with disease prevention services.

Our ABCD Community Prevention programs seek to empower BIPOC* and LGBTQ+** youth in the Greater Boston area to make informed, healthy decisions about their sexual health. All of our programs are trauma-informed, evidence-based or evidence-informed, and integrate the principles of racial equity and reproductive rights. All programs are FREE for participants and can take place in-person, virtually, or as a combination.
*Black, Indigenous, People of Color
**Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, and others on the gender and sexuality spectrum.

ABCD Services link: 3 Steps in 30 Days

3 Steps in 30 Days

Take the sexual health challenge! Don't let another 30-days & 3 powerful steps pass to your sexual health and wellness.
ABCD Services link: Healthy Love

Healthy Love

Relationships come in all shapes and sizes. They can be familial, romantic, sexual, friendships, mentorships, with peers, and even the relationship you have with yourself. No matter the type, all relationships can be healthy or unhealthy.
ABCD Services link: Know Your Status

Know Your Status

Getting tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections is vitally important for you and your health — and for those you love. Reach out to us today!
ABCD Services link: Lower the Sound

Lower the Sound

Lower the Sound — Save Your Hearing is a public health awareness campaign developed to draw attention to the growing number of children and young adults suffering from hearing loss because of exposure to loud noise.
ABCD Services link: Safer is Sexy

Safer is Sexy

Private and confidential workshops about sexual health, relationships, mental wellness and financial literacy for young adults ages 18 to 25 who live in the Boston area.

The ABCD Family Planning Program collaborates with community health centers, school-based health centers, and hospital primary care programs to support comprehensive family planning and sexual health counseling, education and medical care for residents of the diverse neighborhoods in metro Boston. Our goals are to help individuals and couples prevent unintended pregnancies, decrease sexually transmitted infections and HIV, have healthy pregnancies, and stay healthy throughout their lives.

We train medical, nursing and community health worker staff to provide high quality, comprehensive, confidential family planning and sexual health care. If you are a healthcare professional interested in learning more about family planning, visit our Family Planning Training Institute page.

ABCD Services link: Family Planning Services

Family Planning Services

You can get ABCD Family Planning services regardless of your age, gender, immigration status or whether or not you have health insurance. All health centers can help you sign up for insurance and refer you to other types of assistance. Learn more!
ABCD Services link: Map: Family Planning Locations

Map: Family Planning Locations

Family Planning locations in the Boston and Greater Boston area.

The ABCD Family Planning Training Institute provides professional level training on family planning, reproductive health and sexuality education for healthcare providers, counselors, educators, and other community health workers. We offer a comprehensive calendar of professional training opportunities. Introduction to Family Planning, Basic Family Planning, and Family Planning for Advanced Practice are usually offered three times a year.

In addition, trainings on current reproductive health topics are held several times a year. Specialized trainings on family planning and reproductive health topics are available for community and health care agencies by special arrangement with ABCD staff.

ABCD also conducts mandatory trainings on current reproductive health topics several times a year. These trainings are required for certified family planning counselors in ABCD family planning funded sites.

Thank you for visiting our webpage.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and ABCD’s commitment to preventing the spread of the infection, all trainings are currently being offered virtually.

ABCD Family Planning Locations

ABCD Services link: Family Planning Training Institute

Family Planning Training Institute

Each year, the ABCD Family Planning Training Institute offers a comprehensive calendar of professional training opportunities.
ABCD Services link: Basic Family Planning Training

Basic Family Planning Training

If you work in a family planning and reproductive health program but have limited knowledge of family planning, this six day training provides a comprehensive introduction to family planning counseling.
ABCD Services link: Family Planning for Advanced Practice Training

Family Planning for Advanced Practice Training

If you're an RN, Advanced Practice Nurse or Physician Assistant, consider this intensive and comprehensive four part training course on family planning with two live zoom sessions and two online learning components.
ABCD Services link: Family Planning Program Requirements

Family Planning Program Requirements

A one-session training that covers ABCD and Title X requirements for family planning service provision at ABCD sub-recipient sites.

ABCD has received funding to design and implement a training program on various mental health and substance use topics and to develop a toolkit to assist health systems incorporate CHWs into their behavioral health and primary care teams. An additional training will be held for the supervisors of the CHWs to assist in integrating the training content into the day to day work of each health setting.

Project Partners
At the core of this project are Community Health Workers who work in health care settings and serve people who are seen in primary care and specialty clinics and inevitably may have co-occurring mental health and /or substance use challenges. As such, the advisory council will include several Community Health Workers (CHWs) who work in different health and public health systems around Massachusetts. Our organizational partners in this project include the Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers, the National Association of Social Workers Massachusetts Chapter, Health Leads, and the Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health at the Boston University School of Social Work.

Advisory Council
During the 6 month planning period and throughout the three yearlong project, the Advisory Council members may engage in a range of activities that relate to the development and implementation of this project. These include:
• Program design that includes the selection of the training model and curricula
• Evaluation activities
• Training/co-training CHWs and or their supervisors: trainers will receive capacity building on training skills and topic content
• Consultation on the development and dissemination of guidelines to address the integration of CHWs in behavioral health (BH) care teams in community health centers (CHCs)
• Development of policy recommendation on identifying essential components to improve the collaboration between social workers and CHWs on care teams in health care settings.

ABCD Services link: Behavioral Health Integration for CHWs | CHW Supervisor Virtual Training

Behavioral Health Integration for CHWs | CHW Supervisor Virtual Training

With a focus on integrating CHWs into behavioral health care, this training is for Supervisors of CHWs in primary care settings.
ABCD Services link: CHW Behavioral Health Training Course

CHW Behavioral Health Training Course

ABCD Health Services offers a course for Community Health Workers in primary care settings whose patients struggle with substance use and/or mental health issues.