AIDS Services
Catholic Charities Community Services . I'm not Catholic,
but they said they help everyone. The staff person put me
at ease, explained some of the programs and gently reassured
me that I would be okay. I needed that."
HIV/AIDS disease is still everywhere, in every country and in every community .people are living with it and dying from its effects every day. People are facing new diagnoses every day. Individuals need help whether being faced with a new diagnosis or struggling with new complications caused by the effects of the disease.
Through case managers, Catholic Charities Community Services provides professional, compassionate, confidential support services to people who are HIV+ and their families, including accessing safe housing, advocating for medical treatment adherence, and planning for the future while living life. The agency's goal is to move people with HIV/AIDS from a heart-breaking, downward spiral to joy-filled, confident independence!
For information about services and programs, please contact Tracy Boff, AIDS Services Director or the contact listed for each service below.
Case Management
Living with HIV/AIDS is challenging! For a newly diagnosed person or a person whose quality of life has changed because of HIV/AIDS, Case Management offers confidential, personalized, professional assistance in assessing needs, accessing services, in providing advocacy, crisis intervention, and help at appointments when needed. The service can also address short term emergency rent, mortgage or utility problems.
There is also a Bus Pass Program for persons with HIV/AIDS who are enrolled in an AIDS Services programs and living within the routing system of the Regional Transit Service (Rochester, NY).
Contact: Phyllis McElligott, Case Management Information
Housing and Emergency Services
So much of personal well-being depends on a safe, secure place to live that Catholic Charities Community Services AIDS Services specializes in accessing a variety of housing supports for persons with HIV/AIDS through its Housing and Emergency Services Program. Specifically designed to promote long term housing stability, housing placement and referral services assist in identifying quality, affordable housing and then acting as a housing liaison. Rental subsidies are available for persons with HIV/AIDS who meet income and geographic restrictions.
Contact: Heidi Donner, Housing and Emergency Services
Treatment Adherence Education and Healthcare-Related Transportation Services
Living well with HIV/AIDS requires adhering to healthcare and medication regimens as directed by healthcare professionals. Sometimes that isn't easy. Complicated medical terms, street jargon, the shock of diagnosis, the pressures of work, illness, poverty and family all interfere with staying with the program designed for the person living with HIV/AIDS.
Catholic Charities Community Services offers programs in Treatment Adherence Education that address medical and health-related issues, treatment information, counseling and related knowledge to increase understanding of and participation in personal healthcare. Contact: Phyllis McElligott, Treatment Adherence Education Information
Catholic Charities Community Services also administers a need-based Healthcare-Related Transportation Service, providing transportation to medical appointments and related medical care. Varying modes of transportation are available, dependent on eligibility, assessed need and locations. This service is available to HIV+ persons living in Monroe, Chemung, Livingston, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates counties.
Contact: Dianet Dorsey, Medical Transportation.
Families in Transition Program
Catholic Charities Community Services AIDS Services recognizes the security in and value of the family unit. Parents and primary caregivers who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS are faced with a difficult task. They must cope with a serious illness while raising their minor children. HIV+ persons are at a much higher risk of becoming incapacitated or of premature death than their non-infected peers.
Case managers for HIV/AIDS clients gently approach the reality of the need to plan for the future of the children in their charge. The Families in Transition program assists these parents and caregivers as they develop these positive plans for the future care of their children.
Through Families in Transition, case management services are offered along with access to legal assistance. Staff members work to address disclosure issues and design a legal plan to name a future caretaker for the children in the event the parent becomes unable to care for the children. This planning may include wills, proxies, guardianships and custodial issues.
Having a legal plan in place for the future of their children gives the parent a great deal of peace. They can then get to the business of living while knowing that, should anything happen to them, the children will be cared for by someone personally chosen by them!
Case management services are also provided to the children to help them cope with the changes in their family brought about by the caregiver's illness. Children are provided with activities and counseling to give them an outlet to express emotions and thoughts during stressful times.
Transitional case management is in place to follow through after the death of the HIV/AIDS client until the newly established family is stable. Grieving and bereavement services are available on an as-needed basis.
Although a loving parent can never be replaced, children can and do flourish in carefully planned and carefully nurtured new relationships.
Contact: Catherine AE Clauss, MS,ATR-BC, LCAT
Funding
Catholic Charities Community Services' AIDS Services is funded by contracts and grants from the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute, by the City of Rochester, and by general and specific donations.
