News
Client Services Expands
Last Updated on Wednesday, 04 August 2010 20:48 Written by HIV Alliance News Tuesday, 20 July 2010 22:00
Client Services Grow at HIV Alliance
You may know that we provide support services to individuals living with HIV/AIDS, but what does that mean? Client Services helps people living with HIV/AIDS to stabilize and maintain their health through support, advocacy, referral services, and emergency financial assistance. We recognize that physical health is dependent upon emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. Many of our clients struggle to meet basic needs like housing, food, electricity, and medication. As a result, we offer holistic care to meet these needs.
It is not just basic services that make the difference. We hold a weekly social group for our clients, offer nutrition classes, organize family and friend support groups, and put together an annual holiday party, complete with dinner and presents for our clients and their families. We have even found volunteers to dog sit when a client was ill and unable to be at home.
Our services spoke for themselves, and the State of Oregon took notice. They have asked us to rapidly expand our support services. In addition to serving Lane, Coos, Josephine and Curry Counties, we have now added Marion and Klamath Counties as of July 1, 2010. The number of people living with HIV in Marion County alone could more than double our caseload over the next year or two!
This growth does not come without challenges however. An increase in client base also means an increase in client diversity as well as an increase in our staff. “Clients in rural Oregon sometimes face harsher realities, such as stigma and discrimination, lack of social services, and great distances to see medical providers. A large number of Marion County clients are Spanish-speaking. In order to accommodate, we have added to our bilingual staff, including hiring a bilingual receptionist,” says Renee Yandel, HIV Alliance Program Director. HIV Alliance is also faced with outgrowing our current office location and exploring options to remedy that.
Our work in Marion County has started with initial client enrollment. In addition, our Care Coordinators have been available to aid clients with current emergencies, including crises like eviction and inability to obtain medications. Over the next several weeks we will complete enrollment for Marion County clients, including a psycho-social screening with each client.
We were notified just a few weeks ago that the Klamath County Public Health Department was losing its HIV Case Manager. They were considering opting out of the Ryan White contract, meaning there would be no case management for people living with HIV in that county. Since, they have officially opted out of the contract, leaving 17 individuals without access to services. HIV Alliance was then approached by the state to assist these individuals through the Care Coordination pilot. Currently, we are in initial stages of contact with the clients. Klamath County clients will primarily receive services telephonically. Clients who have a medical emergency will be visited by the Josephine County nurse, Brenda Keith, every other month.
County expansion also means learning a new set of ropes. While the regions are very similar in some ways, how medical assistance is implemented varies. Our staff has been responsible for learning new systems in each county, including how OHP and Mental Health services are offered. Also, each county has different and sometimes no programming in practice for basic needs such as housing, transportation, and food.
If the state continues to face difficulties offering services to other counties in Oregon and the Care Coordination Pilot proves to be successful, there is potential for HIV Alliance to continue to grow. The state asks HIV Alliance to take over programming, instead of keeping it within their Public Health sector, because we are able to offer greater personal programming. Without private funding, we would not be able to offer these extra services. Your gift stays within our community so we can plan summer barbeques and museum visits for our clients. As we grow, we will continue to broaden our base of supporters in order to offer these personal services to our clients in those counties. We look forward to future expansion and build relationships with the hundreds of new clients coming into our care this year.
Want to know more about our Client Services? Click here!
Are you from a county outside of Lane County and would like to help? Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Development Coordinator, for more information.
Garden Re-dedication
Last Updated on Thursday, 27 May 2010 22:21 Written by HIV Alliance News Thursday, 27 May 2010 22:14
We have a beautiful new outdoor garden and patio thanks to the generosity and creativity of community members! You are invited to join us for the re-dedication of the space and to meet those who made this project happen.
Job Openings at HIV Alliance
Written by HIV Alliance News Thursday, 20 May 2010 19:18
HIV Alliance currently has multiple job openings!
Click here to read job descriptions, get an application, and find out the process for applying.
Stepping Up "The Game"
Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 July 2010 18:40 Written by HIV Alliance News Tuesday, 30 March 2010 22:58
Stepping Up "The Game"
The recent success and excitement being generated by HIV Alliance's prevention program, The Game, has us exhilarated and hopeful about community outreach efforts to come! The Game is a local implementation of the Community PROMISE (Peers Reaching Out and Modeling Intervention Strategies) model. Proven effective in many cities nationwide, including Portland and Seattle, Community PROMISE is a CDC approved intervention designed specifically to increased preventative behaviors such as safer sex in high risk groups.
This means that at HIV Alliance, we are working with Peer Advocates, a local network of guys who have sex with other guys, to increase HIV awareness and prevention in our community. The Game is about education, prevention, and empowerment for all individuals.
Prevention Coordinator Tony Aaron Fuller recently shared his excitement and hopes for The Game. “I am proud that the agency has stuck with this program. It is hard work, but it makes a difference. We want to come up with new and exciting ways to get guys involved.” He credits Outreach Prevention Specialist Natalie York with being especially active in cultivating new relationships in the community, resulting in the recent addition of five new Peer Advocates for The Game.
Peer Advocates are volunteers who do outreach within their own social networks. They hand out role model stories and safer sex materials, and are committed to helping the community and preventing the spread of HIV. These volunteers are the important piece in making this program work, and they are passionate about what they do.
One Peer Advocate says, “I decided to become a peer advocate because I realized how important it is for men in our community to be safe and have a place to find out about their HIV status. I feel that I’m helping the community by getting the word out and showing others about safe sex practices.”
What's in the future for The Game as well as other prevention and outreach efforts by HIV Alliance? Tony says HIV Alliance is working on marketing The Game by making promotional posters and other printed materials for clubs and other locations that men who have sex with men meet in an effort to stir up curiosity about The Game. The success of this program relies largely on the participation and commitment of the Peer Advocates and other volunteers.
Word of mouth is also key; Tony encourages, “Tell your friends, tell anyone who is MSM who hasn't heard about it. It becomes more effective when more people know about it and can spread the word. We want this to be a program the agency is known for!”
Learn more about The Game here!
Staff Spotlight- Amanda McCluskey
Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 July 2010 17:58 Written by HIV Alliance News Tuesday, 30 March 2010 22:54
Staff Spotlight: Amanda McCluskey, Dental Program Manager
Amanda McCluskey has been providing invaluable insight and services to HIV Alliance for five years. In 2004 she began as an intern in HIV Alliance's Needle Exchange Program. At that time she was also a junior in the University of Oregon's Family and Human Services program. Amanda enjoyed working with HIV Alliance so much that after her internship was over she stayed on as a volunteer doing counseling and testing and volunteering in client services. In 2005 she was hired as a case manager and in 2006 she moved into the dental program.
As the Dental Program Manager, Amanda’s job primarily entails grant management and staff supervision. She also works closely with the staff at our partner agencies in the program, Lane Community College and the Community Health Centers of Lane County. Another integral part of Amanda's job involves traveling across the country to all-grantee meetings and conferences, presenting about our program and learning about other dental programs.
When asked what she likes most about her position, Amanda replied, “this program is never dull. I really appreciate being able to travel and get to bring our story to people across the country. I also enjoy working with clients when I get to. This program is especially satisfying to work with clients in, because we provide virtually every service they need for dental care and it is great to be able to bring such a needed service to this population.”
What made you want to work for HIV Alliance?
I really admired the work this agency does for the community. I think all of the programs here are really exceptional. When I first started I was especially drawn to the harm reduction philosophy the agency has. This was something I had not heard of before and it really struck me as a great way to serve clients. I was also drawn to the family-friendly atmosphere at the agency. I think it is wonderful that parents are able to bring their babies into the office. I always enjoy interacting with my coworkers’ kids at work and definitely enjoyed being able to bring my son into work with me too.
What do you like the most about your specific position and/or the organization?
I love all of the great opportunities in this program. There is always a new partnership to be explored or a new project to work on. This program is funded by a demonstration grant so we are always looking for new ways to improve the way we serve our clients.
How can people looking to volunteer get more involved with the program you work within?
We always need volunteers to help in our program. One of the great things about volunteering in dental is that you can actually get hands on experience with clients. Part of this program involves collecting data with clients about their oral health and HIV status. We have volunteers contact clients, mostly by phone, to complete a 20 minute questionnaire.
We also need volunteers to help out with filing and data entry. We have also had volunteers with clinical experience actually help out in the dental clinic too.
Q: Other than HIV Alliance, what's your favorite local non-profit that you think deserves mention?
One of my favorite nonprofits in the area is Sexual Assault Support Services (SASS). I did my senior project at SASS in and worked in their education department doing presentations in local middle and high schools. I really enjoyed being at SASS and I think they do great work in the community.
Q: What activities do you do outside of work?
When I am not at work I spend lots of time at playgrounds with my partner and our 2 year old son. I like to go for bike rides to the Saturday Market when it is nice out, I also like puzzles like Sudoku, Crypto-quote and crossword puzzles. I like to cook and bake and I play pool with friends once a week. I am still pretty terrible at pool, but I fake it well. I love camping in the summer and hiking too.
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