FemmeNoir
A Web Portal For Lesbians Of Color
Claire J. Griffin, LCSW
101 Atlantic Street
Jersey City, NJ 07304
LICENSES:
Licensed by State of New York
Certified Social Worker (CSW)
Licensed by State of New Jersey
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Claire Griffin, LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is Founder and Executive Director of a Mental Health Service Organization called [the] Life Network Center “an agency without walls” based in Jersey City, New Jersey. The Life Network Center provides Therapeutic Support Services to adults and children, Professional Staff Training, as well as Community Education and referrals to those who request it. Areas of expertise are Survivors of Abuse and Violent Crime (adults and children), Substance Use/Recovery Issues, and coping with Life Altering Illness. In 1999, she completed work for the Center for Community Alternatives (New York) as a Clinical Supervisor, where she developed that agency’s first Harm Reduction program called Women's CHOICES and she is especially proud of the fact that the program remains inclusive of all women, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity today. In July of 2000, Claire was selected to be the Program Administrator for Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey, where her primary duty was to again develop a newly funded program that only existed on paper. The focus of this project was child abuse prevention that targets young people with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 and their families. It is the first program of its kind to be funded in the state. Ms. Griffin was successful in her development efforts and the program was awarded refunding for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 consecutively which heretofore was unprecedented.
Ms. Griffin’s experience in the field of mental health spans over 22 years, having earned a BA in Psychology, (University of NC Charlotte) and a Masters in Clinical Social Work from New York University. She has worked in the area of Substance Use and HIV/AIDS for over 10 years. Additionally she is an HIV/AIDS Educator with University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey’s/AIDS Education and Training Center, as well as a Faculty Member with the New York State Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services.
Ms. Griffin’s experience in the area of HIV/AIDS is equally impressive; some of the highlights include the selection of her organization, in February, 2000 as the recipient of a Dupont scholarship, which allowed her to represent the Life Network Center at the National Conference on Afrikan Americans and HIV/AIDS in Washington, DC. Later that year, she organized a planning committee of several local and regional Community Based Organizations to bring about Hudson County’s first Women’s Conference dealing with the issue of HIV/AIDS entitled the “Duality of Our Lives: Women & HIV/AIDS” held on September 29th at New Jersey City University. In 2001, she was invited back to the National Conference as a featured Speaker to present on the issue of Women & HIV/AIDS and in August, 2001 Ms. Griffin, was asked to make a presentation at the 2001 Diversity Conference on HIV/AIDS in Oakland, California hosted by the SMAAC Youth Center. In 2002 Ms Griffin was again invited back to Washington to serve as Moderator of the Women’s Panel and beginning in July of 2002 for a period of one year, Ms. Griffin served as Grant Reporter for New Jersey Women & AIDS Network for Project Impact which was a Community Education Forum that served to raise HIV/AIDS awareness while increasing involvement at the local level.
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