Responding Immediately to Escalating
Needs
Access and Assessment
In the third decade of AIDS, we are confronted with a global pandemic
unrelenting in its attack and indiscriminate in its target; yet,
there continues to emerge an alarming trend of infection in primarily
poorer communities, in young gay men of color, in other communities
of color, and women. The Access and Assessment department is the
primary portal through which people living with HIV and AIDS enter
GMHC as clients and get connected to care. Last year, 2,225 new
clients enrolled at GMHC, a 27% increase from the previous year.
This influx brought our total number of clients to over 14,000 men,
women, and children. The vast majority of these new clients were
people of color, with marked increases in the number of women and
people of transgender experience.
 Unsurprisingly,
HIV and AIDS can often be devastating to a person's sense of emotional
well-being. Depression, anxiety, low self-esteem — to name a few
— are common symptoms shared by our clients. In fact, 70% of newly
registered clients came to GMHC with a history of mental health
and substance use issues, 50% of whom were not receiving any care.
In response to these alarming statistics, GMHC enhanced the integration
of our wide range of mental health and substance-use-focused services
in order to increase their accessibility immediately upon
entering the agency.
Our Early Engagement Case Management team assists our most vulnerable
clients in linking with services. These clients represent a significant
challenge for GMHC, as they are the most difficult to consistently
engage into care. Many of them are undocumented immigrants, transient,
homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, or live in housing with
little or no support. Early Engagement connects these clients with
services and, more importantly, with solutions, immediately upon
registering at GMHC. Providing brief short-term counseling aimed
primarily at crisis reduction and preparing a client for longer
psychotherapy, Adult Mental Health Services connects clients with
a highly experienced professional staff trained in mental health
and substance use issues. Clients attend weekly group and one-on-one
counseling sessions, access crisis intervention, and receive extensive
follow-up as needed. In addition, our Group Services unit provides
counseling in a longer-term setting. Groups for care partners, long-term
survivors, those returning to work, and the newly diagnosed, among
others, offer a safe, consistent, and positive environment within
which members can address challenging life situations as well as
develop and enhance coping and decision-making skills over time.
Immediate access to support and care is especially important to
our clients who are engaging in high-risk behavior. The new Prevention
Case Management program intervenes in the lives of HIV-positive
men who have sex with men and are active drug users. The program's
goal — to reduce transmission and reinfection — is achieved through
a 12-week cycle that uses six trained HIV-positive peers as counselors,
supportive buddies, and touchstones that enhance a client's access
to other GMHC services.
GMHC's much-lauded Buddy Program offers specifically designed volunteer-provided
help and service to bridge the gap in health and social support
often felt by our clients. Issues of isolation, loss, depression,
disclosure (of new diagnosis, ongoing health issues, and sexuality),
and disabling medical conditions are overlapping and often demand
a person-to-person solution. Our volunteer Buddies escort clients
to appointments and activities that might be emotionally demanding
or stressful. Especially important to newly registered clients,
the Buddy is a vital link to services both inside and outside of
GMHC. The presence of a GMHC Buddy adds to a client's feelings of
confidence and empowerment in the management of their own health
and life, resulting in an undisputed improvement in both.
Contents
© 2003 Gay Men's Health Crisis
|
home 
