About
Hyacinth: Times Have Changed, but Our Mission Continues
When Hyacinth, New Jersey’s largest and first HIV service provider, opened its doors in 1985, our mission was to help people dying of HIV/AIDS do so with dignity and support. What a difference 35 years makes! Today, because of welcome advances in medical treatment and what scientists know about HIV, we’re helping our clients live full, healthy, and productive lives! Our mission is to help people live with HIV, stop the spread of the epidemic, and serve as a critical voice in the public debate surrounding AIDS in New Jersey.
Challenges still exist, and our work is far from over. Our staff of nearly 100 employees and more than 75 volunteers collaborate tirelessly to:
- stop the spread of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and Hepatitis C through education and prevention strategies;
- provide wellness and behavioral health services;
- meet the unique needs of the diverse HIV community (gay, bisexual, transgender, women, addicts) through safe and supportive programs;
- address stigma, housing challenges, and barriers to care and treatment; and
- educate lawmakers and lobby for corrective/progressive legislation on HIV-related issues.
While programs change because of funding and client needs, our goals remain the same: to help each individual living with HIV develop the mental and physical strength to live with the disease, manage their sexual health, live life safely with partners, and maintain a treatment regimen that works most successfully for them.
Seven Offices in Six Cities
Jersey City * Paterson * Plainfield * Trenton * New Brunswick * Newark
A Message from Hyacinth’s Executive Director
Welcome to Hyacinth! Since 1985, our values and services have demonstrated commitment, leadership, service, and accountability to New Jersey’s HIV community. We stand up for what we believe – and our most fervent belief is that it is beyond time to end this epidemic. To do so, it will take all of us working together to fight the systems that contribute to the spread of HIV – racism, homophobia, transphobia, and poverty. We also need to improve health literacy among people living with HIV and find better solutions for common concerns, such as adequate housing.
On this website, you’ll find information about HIV/AIDS, STIs, harm reduction programs, and other Hyacinth services and volunteer opportunities. I hope you find the information you need and the right person to contact within the organization if you’d like to learn more!
Thanks for visiting our website! We look forward to partnering with you however we can.
Kathy O’Brien
Hyacinth Executive Director
- Make a Donation
Make a Donation
Commemorate Hyacinth’s 35 years in the fight to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New Jersey. No act of generosity is too small to make a difference.
Hyacinth Board of Trustees
Linda J. Niedweske, Esq., President
Partner, Niedweske Barber, LLC
Jeri M. Thomas, Vice President
Vice President, Bristol Myers Squibb
Peter Jewell, Vice President Development
Retired
William Hagaman Jr., Treasurer
Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Withum
James Hemm, Assistant Treasurer
Retired
Arjun Channi, Governance Chair
Associate Director of Regulatory Affairs, Sanofi Consumer Healthcare
Angela Amoatey, Member
Counselor, Irvington Public Schools
Brad Arlett, Member
Commercial IT Director, Relypsa, Inc.
Perry Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH, Member
Dean, School of Public Health, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey
Michael McQueeny, Esq., Member
Cannabis Practice Group Chair/Counsel, Foley Hoag LLP
Bruce L. Moskovitz, M.D., Member
Retired
Robert Parkinson, Member
Chief Financial Officer, Turning Point Inc
Leadership
Kathy Ahearn-O'Brien,
Executive Director
Axel Torres Marrero,
Sr. Director of Public Policy & Prevention
Jodi Riccardi,
Sr. Director of Program Development
Nicole Leonard,
Sr. Director of Finance
Johanne Rateau,
Director of Regional Services
Rocio Ruiz,
Director of Prevention
Rosalind Ford,
Director of Behavioral Health
Hyacinth Offices and Services
- New Brunswick (Middlesex County)
317 George St., Suite 203
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732-246-0204
- Community health worker support
- Emergency financial assistance
- Housing placement assistance
- Incarcerated discharge planning
- Psycho-social support services
- Wellness Community at Hyacinth
- Plainfield (Union County)
107 Park Ave., 3rd Floor
Plainfield, NJ 07060
908-755-0021
- Community health worker support
- Emergency financial assistance
- HIV testing
- Incarcerated discharge planning
- MaleBox – Gay/bisexual men’s sexual health education & LGBTQ drop-in center
- Non-medical case management
- PrEP education
- Psycho-social support services
- Wellness Community at Hyacinth
- Newark (Essex County)
194 Clinton Ave., Lower Level
Newark, NJ 07108
862-240-1461
- Community health worker support
- Client legal advocacy program
- Housing placement assistance
- Hyacinth Health & Wellness Clinic
- In-office and mobile HIV testing
- Incarcerated discharge planning
- Individual and group substance abuse counseling
- Medical/non-medical case management
- PrEP education
- Psycho-social programming
- STI testing
- THRIVE – Women’s and men’s sexual health education
- Wellness Community at Hyacinth
- Paterson (Passaic County)
100 Hamilton Plaza, 14th Floor
Paterson, NJ 07505
973-278-7636
- Community health worker support
- In-office and mobile HIV testing
- Individual and group substance abuse counseling
- Non-medical Case Management
- Mobile syringe access program
- PrEP counseling
- Project PAUZE – Gay/bisexual men’s sexual health education & LGBTQ drop-in center
- Psycho-social programming
- Trenton (Mercer County)
849 W. State Street
Trenton, NJ 08618
609-396-8322
- Community health worker support
- Emergency financial assistance
- Gay/bisexual men’s sexual health education
- Harm reduction center
- HIV testing
- LGBTQ drop-in center and safe space
- Non-medical case management
- PrEP counseling
- Psycho-social programming
- STI testing
- Wellness Community at Hyacinth
- Jersey City (Hudson County)
48 Fairview Ave.
Jersey City, NJ 07304
201-432-1134
- Client legal advocacy program
- Community health worker support
- Emergency financial assistance
- Harm reduction & drop-in center
- HIV testing
- Non-medical case management
- Psycho-social programming
- Wellness Community at Hyacinth
-
Jersey City Living Out Loud
(Hudson County)
653-655 Newark Ave., 2nd Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07306
201-706-3480
- CLEAR – Choosing Life: Empowerment, Action, Results!
- HIV prevention education
- HIV testing
- LGBTQ drop-In center and safe space
- Personalized cognitive counseling
- PrEP education
- Project LOL – Gay/bisexual men’s sexual health education
- Testing Together – Couples HIV counselling and testing
- Hyacinth Statewide Services & Administrative Office
317 George St., Suite 203
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732-246-0204
Employment Opportunities
Hyacinth is dedicated to hiring team members from the New Jersey communities we serve. For a complete list of employment opportunities and to submit an application, visit our career site.
The Hyacinth AIDS Foundation is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and will consider all qualified applicants without regard to sex, race, creed or religion, color, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, or veteran, sexual orientation, or marital status.
For Human Resources related questions, please contact Frances Villaman, Director of Human Resources, at fvillaman@hyacinth.org or 732-246-0204.
Learn More About Hyacinth
We’re Social!
Want to keep up with Hyacinth? Follow us on your favorite social media channels!
Facebook: @hyacinthnj
Instagram: @hyacinthfoundation
Twitter: @hyacinthnj
LinkedIn: @hyacinthfoundation
Questions about Hyacinth can be emailed to (info@hyacinth.org).
All media inquiries should be directed to Kathy Ahearn-O’Brien (kobrien@hyacinth.org) or Axel Torres Marrero (amarrero@hyacinth.org).