About the AIDS Ride for Life

Now entering its twenty-fifth year, the AIDS Ride for Life is a Fundraiser Ride around Cayuga Lake. It offers multiple route options, from 14 to 102 miles, beautiful scenery, fully supported pit stops with volunteers, snacks, first aid, bathrooms, hydration, Safety & Gear Road support. 

Why Ride? What is the Southern Tier AIDS Program? 

The Southern Tier AIDS Program (STAP) is a non-profit whose mission is to compassionately and competently meet the evolving needs of our communities by serving people affected by chronic illness and to improve public health through disease prevention, care coordination, and advocacy. STAP provides a variety of programs and services to eight counties (Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland,  Delaware,  Otsego, Tioga, and Tompkins counties) in Upstate New York with over 80 staff members and five STAP offices. The AIDS Ride for the life is the biggest fundraising event for STAP, where donations raised go assist our programs and services in closing the gaps between the needs of our clients and the grant funding we receive. 

 

Programs in the eight counties we serve include: 

The Tompkins County Syringe Exchange Program: The Syringe Exchange provides necessary equipment to reduce harm when injecting, this includes clean syringes, sterile water, cottons, caps, and first aid equipment. It also provides Opioid Overdose Prevention training and Naloxone to staff, clients, and the community.  

Health HUB Program: The Health hub consists of one part-time doctor, a full time RN, full time care coordinator, and a full time assistant to meet the needs of participants of the Syringe Exchange in relation to drug-user health. It also helps participants get on a Medically Assisted Treatment Program (MAT) by referring clients to organizations like REACH Medical who can prescribe buprenorphine and other medicines to assist patients in addiction recovery. 

Health Homes & Southern Tier Care Coordination: Health Homes (also known generally as the Southern Tier Care Coordination) is a part of the NYS Medicaid Program "Health Homes of Upstate NY". The program assists individual who are enrolled or eligible for Medicaid and are living with HIV/AIDS, OR have two or more chronic health conditions. The goal of our staff is to connect clients to medical care, housing, and any other services that the client needs to stay healthy, and out of the hospital and/or emergency room.

Criminal Justice Initiative: The Criminal Justice Initiative staff work with persons who have been incarcerated by providing education, peer training, outreach, and transitional planning services in designated facilities. 

Testing Services: The Ithaca STAP office provides free and confidential testing for HIV, HEP-C, Syphilis, Chlamydia, and Gonorrhea by simply making an appointment over the phone (607-272-4098) with our Health HUB staff. We also provide testing in our mobile syringe exchange (located in multiple counties in the Southern Tier on different days), and in Broome County! 

Regional Care Coordination: Our newest program, the RCC Program or Regional Care Coordination Program, provides mobile Syringe Exchange and other prevention-related services to areas that do not have "brick and mortar" locations like our Johnson City or Ithaca Syringe Exchange. They seek to provide harm reduction services in the communities that need it most at no cost to the individual or the municipality that welcomes them in. They currently service Cortland, Norwich, and Elmira in their mobile van unit, at all times of the year no matter the temperature outside. The services they provide include: HIV/HCV testing, safe syringe disposal and exchange, linkage and referral services, safe sex supplies, and rapid COVID testing. 

Have specific questions? We have a FAQ page!

(Example: questions regarding age restrictions, fundraising, pitstop addresses, and more!)

Check out our FAQ or call our office at 607-272-4098!