Agency: Aids Project Los Angeles
Description: Aids Project Los Angeles is a non-profit that serves more than 11,000 with first-rate HIV/AIDS care and prevention programs and fight for smart, effective HIV-related public policy. APLA's bilingual programs and services enhance both the health and quality of life of people living with HIV. Their services are designed to promote self-sufficiency for people living with HIV/AIDS, to support better medical outcomes, and to keep people living with HIV/AIDS in care.
Location(s): Los Angeles and North Hollywood
Website: https://aplahealth.org/
Clientele: Adults, some couples
Areas of Focus: AIDS infected adults, LGBTQ population, substance abuse
Availability of Hours:
Site Hours of Operation: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Daytime Availability: Yes
Evening Availability: Yes
Weekend Availability: No
Required Schedule:
Commitment: One year
Other Information:
Langauge Requirement: No
Aliento Program Site:
Training Fees Required: No
DMH Site: No
Pre-Practicum Volunteer Opportunities: Yes
Paid Position: No
How to Apply:
To apply, email resume and a paragraph in the email about why you would be a good match for the APLA clientele to sboileau@apla.org and follow up with a phone call to Sean Boileau at (213) 201-1369. Include any substance abuse courses or experience in the body of the email / cover letter when you email your resume and also your interest in working with their population.
During COVID-19, please email your resume to Lydia to her remote email address:
For Pre-Practicum Volunteer opportunities, please visit https://aplahealth.org/get-involved/volunteer/
Student Feedback:
Strengths:
- Great Program Director and Supervisors (including one Pepperdine alum), couples hours can be acquired, solid individualized training, no fees required
- 15-20 hours free training provided before seeing any clients (i.e. HIV 101, Crisis Management, Groups, Substance Use, Trauma, etc.)
- There is potential for a post-grad paid internship following your traineeship at this site.
- Must volunteer weekdays, limited population/presenting problems for exam prep
- Organized
- There are many available resources on site.
- Supportive peers and intimate office space.
- Great supervision and training. Everyone is open to questions and very knowledgeable.
- Clients present with a variety of issues making for a variety of experiences.
- Site was very supportive and great supervision.
- I feel like I get a lot of supervision/training/and feedback and feel comfortable approaching any staff member.
- It is great experience to gain knowledge in a LGBTQ affirmative setting.
- Learned valuable lessons regarding substance use.
- Good site for students who are mature and are good advocates
- Would like more supervisory experiences although Lydia, current Supervisor is great!
- Group supervision is very helpful - good space to discuss individual cases as well as time spent on specific psychotherapy techniques and strategies
- Good use of time discussing current local and national issues, how they impact our clients and how they impact us
- Site allows interns to really learn and develop their own style, practice with different interventions and modalities
Challenges
- Because most clients receive little to no cost treatment so I have experienced many times when clients do not show up.
- With high risk substance use clients, retention can be difficult.
- It is slow to build client load, but clients seem to be consistent once scheduled.
- some disorganization
-Due to the pandemic we weren't able to utilize and benefit from resources otherwise available at the physical locations.