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Monday 8am - 6:30pm Tuesday 8am - 6:30pm Wednesday 8am - 6:30pm Thursday 8am - 6:30pm Friday 8am - 6:30pm

Albany Damien Center

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Albany, NY
Albany Damien Center

The Damien Center is a community center for people impacted by HIV, homelessness, & mental health
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The Damien Center's mission is to enhance the lives of people affected by HIV/AIDS in an affirming environment and to reduce new infections in the communities we serve. We envision a community where people with HIV/AIDS achieve their desired potential and are respected as coworkers neighbors and friends, while striving for an HIV free generation.

03/15/2026

Discover what is happening at the Albany Damien Center this next week! Check the flyer for details.

03/14/2026

03/13/2026

🐾 Our next PAWS Pet Food Pickup will take place on Saturday, March 14, 2026, with Troy home deliveries from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM.

Please see the flyer for more details and scheduling information. 🐾

03/12/2026

Join us in partnership with the National Working Positive Coalition for the upcoming webinar titled “What to Know!: Working While Receiving Public Benefits."

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM ET

Don't miss out on this opportunity!
Register here: https://www.hivtrainingny.org/User/ConfirmCourse/6294

03/10/2026

🐾🎳 Thank You for Making the 15th Annual Bowling for PAWS a Success! 🎳🐾

We had a ball! Thank you to everyone who joined us for an afternoon of bowling, raffles, music from DJ Ricki, and live performances by Calypso Breeze and The Empire Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. We were also honored to welcome a special appearance by Paul D. Tonko.

Your support helps ensure the PAWS Program can continue providing critical care and support for pets and their owners.

Silver Sponsors:
Gilead Sciences
Waterworks Pub

Bronze Sponsor:
Housing Works Inc.

Advocate Sponsors:
Benson's Pet Center
Copps DiPaola Silverman PLLC
Fenimore Asset Management
PNJ Technology Partners
Stewart's Shops
World Insurance Associates LLC

Raffle & Prize Donors:
5 Wits - Albany, NY
Albany Institute of History & Art
BarkBox
Blooms By Marie
Clare Elisabeth Photography
David Hinchen Gallery
Dee Burkins
Divalicious Designs by Marisa
Gina Moran
Hudson Boulders
Melany Bradshaw
Nine Pin Cider
Open Door Bookstore
Oriental Trading Company
Peachfork Orchards & Vineyard
PetMedic Albany - Urgent Care Vet Clinic
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Simone's Kitchen
Skin Envee
The Clark Art Institute
The Pottery Place
Tri-City Valley Cats
Wolf Hollow Brewing

Thank you to everyone who bowled, donated, volunteered, and supported this special event. We look forward to seeing you again next year! 🐾

03/10/2026

Progress in the HIV response must include women and girls.

Although women account for about 1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses, they represented only 9% of PrEP users, highlighting ongoing gaps in access to prevention.

Observed each year on March 10th, National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day ( ) raises awareness about the impact of HIV on women and girls and the importance of prevention, testing, treatment, and equitable access to care.

Join us in recognizing and amplifying resources that support prevention, care, and long-term health for women affected by HIV.

Continued awareness, education, and access to care are essential to improving health outcomes for women and girls and strengthening the HIV response for all.

03/09/2026

Enjoy good food, friendly faces, and a place that feels like home.
Stop by the Albany Damien Center this week—you are always welcome!

🍳 Breakfast: 8:00–9:30 AM
🍽️ Lunch: 12:00–1:30 PM
🍲 Dinner: 5:00–6:30 PM

03/06/2026

The Albany Damien Center extends its sincere gratitude to the generous sponsors supporting Bowling for PAWS 2026. Their partnership helps make this event possible and supports our PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support) program, which provides pet food, veterinary care, and in-home support to help people living with HIV/AIDS continue caring for their beloved pets.

We are grateful for the commitment these organizations have shown to our mission and to the community we serve.

Individuals and organizations interested in becoming a sponsor, registering a team, or supporting the event can learn more here: https://www.bowlathon.net/event/bowling-for-paws-2026/

Your support helps ensure that pets remain with the people who love and depend on them.

03/04/2026

We are proud to recognize the current members of our 2026 Honorary “Pins” Committee for Bowling for PAWS.

The list above reflects members as of March 4, 2026 — and continues to grow.

There is still time to join the Honorary “Pins” Committee:

Single – $150 (includes one event ticket + program recognition)
Couple – $300 (includes two event tickets + program recognition)

Join here:
https://www.bowlathon.net/manage/event/bowling-for-paws-2026/donation/create

Learn more about Bowling for PAWS 2026:
https://www.bowlathon.net/event/bowling-for-paws-2026/

Your support makes this event possible.

03/04/2026

🎉 Bingo at Albany Damien Center Tomorrow! 🎉

Join us tomorrow at 1:00 PM in the Living Room for Bingo hosted by our Behavioral Health Interns.

Come enjoy an afternoon of fun, connection, and friendly competition. All members are welcome — we hope to see you there

03/02/2026

Happy Purim from the Albany Damien Center! 🎭✨

Wishing all who celebrate a joyful, meaningful holiday filled with laughter, community, and happiness.

Chag Purim Sameach! 💜

03/02/2026

Women’s History Month.
Not a trend. Not a phase. 💜

Started as a small week in California in 1978.
Went national in 1980.
Made official in 1987.

Grassroots → Nationwide → Permanent.

That’s the energy.

Women didn’t wait for permission to lead.
They built movements.
They built systems.
They built futures.

And when history tried to skip their names?
They wrote themselves back in.

This month isn’t about flowers.
It’s about impact.

It’s about the women who organize.
The women who advocate.
The women who show up.
The women who refuse to shrink.

Still pushing.
Still building.
Still making history.

Every. Single. Day.

Address

728 Madison Avenue
Albany, NY
12208

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 6:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 6:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 6:30pm
Thursday	8am - 6:30pm
Friday	8am - 6:30pm

Telephone

(518) 449-7119

Website

http://www.albanydamiencenter.org/

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Our Story

Imagine a place where a hot meal is being prepared for you in the kitchen, a place where you feel a part of a family. Imagine a place where people greet you and warmly ask how you are doing. Imagine a place buzzing with the sounds of conversation and laughter, a place where you’re accepted for who you are. You meet people like yourself whom you can trust to help you learn how to take better care of yourself, because you’ve realized that it’s never too late to be what you might have been - and that it is time to stop living like we are dying of HIV and AIDS. Welcome to the Albany Damien Center – we’re so glad you’re here!

The Albany Damien Center provides a resource center, programs, and activities for individuals and families living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Our mission is to enhance the lives of people affected by HIV/AIDS in an affirming environment and to reduce new infections in the communities we serve. Our vision is a community where people with HIV/AIDS achieve their desired potential and are respected as coworkers neighbors and friends, while striving for an HIV free generation.

The Albany Damien Center opened in 1988 and was incorporated in 1990 as the first AIDS drop-in center in the United States. Named after Saint Damien of Molokai, who ministered to people with leprosy in the late 1800s , The Damien Center is not a faith-based organization, yet invites persons from all religious and spiritual organizations to participate in helping with Center services.

From November 1988 to September 1998, the Damien Center was located at Grace & Holy Innocents Church on the corner of Robin and Clinton Avenue in Albany. In September 1998, the Albany Damien Center purchased the property at 12 South Lake Avenue, Albany, NY 12203 which served as the agency headquarters and program site until a fire destroyed the building and its contents on August 29, 2013. We relocated to the First Lutheran Church at 646 State Street, Albany, NY, where we offered our full range of services without interruption while building our new Damien Center.

On November 6, 2017. The Albany Damien Center moved to its new 26,000 building located at 728 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY, just two blocks down from the former Damien Center. The new $5.6 million building serves as our agency headquarters and offers drop-in programs in a warm, comfortable setting for over 400 people living with HIV and AIDS annually. The site also has 20 apartments utilizing a housing-first model for 22 people living with HIV/AIDS who were homeless. This project is made possible from a $4.3 million grant from OTDA’s Homeless Housing & Assistance Program and funding from the fire insurance settlement and fundraising. The Albany Damien Center opened its second site in Schenectady in November 2014 with collaboration from Schenectady Inner City Ministries.

The Albany Damien Center program areas include the AIDS Community Center (est. 1990), Treasure Chest Thrift Shop (1999), Smart Meals (2001), PAWS (2003), Foundations for Living (2012), and Mpower Albany (2014). The Albany Damien Center serves the upstate New York region in communities located in Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Ess*x, Franklin, Fulton, Green, Hamilton, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, and Washington Counties.

The Damien Center employs 40 staff members and utilizes over 85 volunteers each year to deliver services in a caring, trauma-informed, grassroots approach. Since 1999, Perry Junjulas, Executive Director and person living with AIDS who first came to the Damien Center in 1995 for help, has led the organization and has encouraged active participation by people living with HIV and AIDS in all areas of program service delivery.

The AIDS Community Center Program provides drop in programs including HIV+ peer-led access to care, supportive counseling, HIV prevention support groups, holistic therapies (massage, Reiki, spiritual care), HIV/AIDS information resources, computer access, consumer advocacy, and opportunities for social and recreational activities. The Treasure Chest Thrift Store provides vocational training opportunities, and clothing, furniture, and household items for clients in need. Smart Meals combines nutrition education with well-balanced nutritious hot meals prepared on site, grocery bags, and food vouchers to local supermarkets. PAWS (Pets are Wonderful Support) provides task, financial, and informational assistance to pet owners living with HIV/AIDS to ensure that they are not separated from their animal companions when they need each other the most. Foundations for Living, helps individuals living with HIV/AIDS gain employment, vocational training, and stable housing. Mpower Albany, located at ROCKS, 77 Central Ave, second floor, Albany, provides prevention services and a drop-in center for young men of color (ages 18-34) who have s*x with men.

In 2016, The Albany Damien Center served over 400 individuals living with HIV/AIDS and their affected members of their support system who are not accessing HIV medical treatment and supportive care services and have limited social supports. Our members typically are living in severe poverty, are unstably housed, have co-morbid health conditions (mental health, substance use disorder, trauma, et.al), suffer from the continued HIV stigma present today, and have inadequate or nonexistent psychosocial supports. They do not access medical nutritional therapy, have food insecurity, and possess little knowledge of food safety or nutrition.

The Damien Center is a unique resource in our Northeastern New York community for people living with and at risk for HIV/STI/hepatitis. We provide programs in a comfortable, trauma-informed, and supportive HIV+ peer-led environment using a health and wellness education model. Our client-centered approach addresses the physical, psychological, and environmental impacts on an individual’s overall health. Staff understand the barriers and issues faced by people living with HIV/AIDS and deliver programs utilizing a culturally sensitive, client focused, harm reduction approach. We work to ensure each person has unfettered access to the life enriching treatment and support they deserve, ensuring HIV prevention in the process.

Albany Damien Center

03/15/2026

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03/13/2026

03/12/2026

03/10/2026

03/10/2026

03/09/2026

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03/04/2026

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03/02/2026

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