Services for Homeless HIV Positive Individuals and their Families

Existing research indicates that homeless people engage in behaviors that place them at high risk for HIV infection. Mental and physical illnesses also impose a great burden on homeless people. Not surprisingly, homeless people with HIV are sicker than their domiciled counterparts. Because they are less likely than the general population to have access to medical care, they often lack the treatment they need to manage this complex disease. And when homeless people do succeed in accessing HIV treatment, they sometimes are unable to adhere to prescribed treatment regimens because they lack a regular meal schedule, access to refrigeration, or a safe place to store medicines.

Care for the Homeless Receives Two Awards from Medical and Health Research Association for HIV Care (December 2005)
Continuing to respond to these special needs, Care for the Homeless has sought and received two new grants from the Medical and Health Research Association of New York City, which administers the federal government’s Ryan White (Title I) funding. The first will allow us to provide treatment adherence support services to homeless HIV-positive individuals able to adhere to highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) regimens, ultimately extending and improving the quality of their lives. These treatment adherence services will include individual level client support from intensive case managers as well as education for both clients and their medical providers on adhering to the best treatment strategies and adopting best practices to manage the illness.

A second grant will allow Care for the Homeless to expand its current HIV rapid testing services to high-risk outreach sites in Brooklyn. We will utilize health promotion strategies to engage homeless individuals in this method of testing which has been shown to drastically increase HIV testing numbers and client knowledge of HIV status. By providing quality pre- and post-test counseling, CFH’s medical and health education staff ensure that clients receive appropriate education, referrals and follow-up services to help keep them in care. The grant specifically obligates us to reach out to some of the most marginalized members in communities of color, particularly women, formerly incarcerated individuals, and those who are chemically dependent and suffering with mental illness.

Together the grants will round out our continuing services.

Continuum of Care
Care for the Homeless integrates outreach, early intervention counseling and testing services, health education and risk reduction, treatment and care coordination for homeless people who are HIV+ or at risk for infection to ensure a continuum of care throughout the disease process. Health Education, Social Services (including Intensive Case Management, Substance Abuse Counseling and Psychiatric services) and Primary Health Care are integrated in a seamless service delivery model that reaches more than 200 HIV+ clients for each of the last five years.

Outreach & Testing
Care for the Homeless recently refined and expanded its HIV Counseling, Testing, Referral and Partner Notification (HIV CTR PN) services, implementing the OraQuick® Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test in a pilot program at a soup kitchen on the upper west side of Manhattan. This rapid-test technology addresses the high failure-to-return rates that have been documented at publicly funded HIV test sites using conventional testing methods, which require a two-week wait for results. Additionally, CFH conducts dynamic, interactive health education workshops with soup kitchen clients each week to ensure that clients have access to the information and risk reduction supplies that they will need to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Based on the success of the program, we are expanding the use of rapid test technology to additional sites.

HIV Intensive Case Management
Care for the Homeless’ HIV Intensive Case Managers are available to any person living with HIV/AIDS and who is homeless or at-risk of homelessness. The HIV ICMs provide homeless clients who are HIV+ with vital tools for obtaining and maintaining housing, primary care, food, benefits, and aftercare. Through their consistency, support, and hard work they help clients continue their recovery—from homelessness, substance abuse, domestic violence, mental illness, and the progression of HIV/AIDS. By making sure any lapses are temporary, our ICM staff live out our name and mission day in and day out. See Rico's story.

HIV Consumer Advisory Board
The agency seeks consumer input and advice from a Client Advisory Board which includes current or former consumers of our services with a history of homelessness and HIV. The Board meets bi-monthly and its activities have included consultation for agency and city-wide HIV services planning, assisting CFH with identifying service needs and gaps, and ensuring consumers continue to have a voice in policies and issues.

Authorized Training Agency Initiative
Care for the Homeless is a New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOH MH) AIDS Institute Authorized Training Agency (ATA). As part of this initiative, Care for the Homeless can provide the approved one-day “Overview of HIV Infection and AIDS” training and the three-day “HIV Test Counselor” training necessary to offer testing in New York State. These trainings prepare health educators, social workers, outreach workers, case managers, peer educators, medical assistants, patient care technicians, nurses, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners and physicians to be HIV test counselors in NYC and often have long waiting lists.

Contributions to Care for the Homeless are tax-deductible to the full extent provided by aw.

Checks can be made out to "Care for the Homeless" and sent to:
Care for the Homeless
12 West 21st Street, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10010-6902

Electronic donations can be made through Network for Good or NY Charities .