Teresa Lee, correctional health educator: empowering incarcerated people to build healthier communities

Teresa Lee, correctional health educator at Community Access Services (CAS) (an affiliate of Evergreen Health) believes that supporting the health and wellness of incarcerated people builds healthier communities. Teresa has been with CAS since 2018, serving individuals who are incarcerated in and recently released from seven facilities in the Wende hub of prisons throughout Western New York.

The program Teresa leads at CAS is funded by the New York State Department of Health’s Corrections Health Initiative to connect incarcerated and recently released people in our community with HIV and Hepatitis C prevention, treatment and support.

To set the scene for Teresa’s work: incarcerated people in the United States face more barriers to healthcare and worse health outcomes than our general population. On top of experiencing higher rates of illnesses like HIV and Hepatitis C, people who are diagnosed with a chronic illness while in prison don’t have access to the same medical care, community and familial support, or personal autonomy that non-incarcerated folks have when learning to manage a life-changing diagnosis.

People who are transitioning out of the prison system face different barriers to healthcare: many are released without Medicaid, a primary care provider, or education on how to self-manage their chronic illness. This means that recently released folks with chronic illnesses tend to face worse health outcomes when they leave prison, like increased viral loads of HIV.

This is where Teresa comes in with our Corrections Health Initiative program. Teresa visits prisons throughout the WENDE hub in Western New York each day, and meets with incarcerated folks to educate them about HIV, Hepatitis C and STI prevention and treatment, as well as help them build leadership and communication skills.

In Teresa’s Peer Training program, she meets with the same group of individuals every day for three weeks. She empowers each individual to dive in and learn about one subject related to health and harm reduction, like opioid overdose prevention, reducing stigma, PrEP and PEP, and inclusivity. Her goal is to not only educate each individual, but to help them become an advocate who can educate their peers in turn.

It’s clear from the testimonials Teresa gets that her Peer Training students are learning more than how to take charge of their health and prevent the transmission of HIV and STIs: they’re also learning communication and public speaking skills, and leaving her class feeling empowered. One student wrote: “Ms. Lee treated everyone with kindness and respect. Her knowledge is extensive. I forgot I was in prison when in class.” Teresa was one of two professionals in New York State to receive the Education Star Award at this year’s Corrections Health Initiative Conference for her outstanding work.

Teresa also works with people who are living with HIV or Hepatitis C while they transition out of the prison system. She connects these individuals to insurance, a primary care provider, and provides other tools they need to make sure they can successfully keep treating their illness while they transition back into the general population.

Teresa’s work is always changing based on the needs of the people she works with: for example, she recently started a group for incarcerated women with trauma in order to meet their specific needs. She hopes that the expanded space, staff and community partnerships that the CAS Ken-Bailey project will bring will allow her to keep growing the women’s trauma support program, start more new programs, and expand services to the general population of incarcerated and recently released people across Western New York.

Teresa is Evergreen’s 2023 Spirit Award Winner

Each year, one employee of Evergreen Health, Community Access Services or the Pride Center of Western New York who embodies our values is nominated by their peers to receive the Evergreen Spirit Award. This January, Teresa was announced as this year’s Spirit Award winner because of the tireless positivity, dedication and care she brings to her work at Community Access Services. Congratulations, Teresa, on this well-deserved honor.

Outside of work, Teresa is a writer who is working on her first novel, and enjoys spending time with her dog and her friends.