Dear GMHC community,
We are writing with an update about our services and plans for the coming months. We continue to provide all of our services using a hybrid approach of both in-person and remote delivery. Our Testing Center is open on Mondays and Tuesdays by appointment only for HIV & STI testing and our Grab ‘n’ Go meals distribution is occurring every Wednesday. We are also scheduling in-person appointments with our clients on Wednesdays. For the status of specific GMHC services, please visit our Services Update web page.
Since the COVID pandemic began last March, we have learned that a hybrid model has helped us reach more people in need. For example, our legal services program, which is conducting meetings by phone and videoconferencing, reported a 33 percent increase in the number of clients it was able to serve during a six-month period. We have also seen increases in enrollment in other programs that have pivoted to remote delivery such as the “I’m Still Here” webinar series for older adults living with HIV/AIDS that is now available to people nationwide. In addition, our meals and nutrition program, which was previously restricted to people living with HIV/AIDS, is now available to anyone in need. Since the pandemic began, we have provided more than 130,000 meals.
We will continue to deliver services through a hybrid model at least through this summer and early fall. We will also continue to strategize to find the best ways that we can help our clients and the community. Our Consumer Advisory Board, which represents the people whom we serve, continues to provide strong support for our hybrid delivery model. Many of our consumers are also reporting higher levels of satisfaction with our services using the hybrid delivery model.
We are monitoring closely the COVID pandemic, particularly the spread of variants, and will adjust our delivery model as needed to protect the health and safety of our staff and consumers. We are also planning to assess levels of vaccination coverage to inform future decision-making about operations in our facility. At this time, our facility is not fully accessible for in-person, group gatherings.
We will continue to provide you with regular updates about any changes to our services going forward. Please email info@gmhc.org with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
GMHC Senior Management Team
