Disease Management Program

Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI)

- Outreach Services

Outreach Services focus on minorities living with HIV/AIDS in Austin and surrounding areas. The foundation of the program is education and referrals to HIV testing, client advocacy, primary medical care and other community resources. Peers from the community, experienced with the community or living with similar challenges, work to assist individuals improve their utilization of the system and improve their lives.

Eligibility: African American or Latino/a, living in Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays or Williamson Counties

- Case Management

Case Management assists minorities living with HIV in Austin and surrounding areas. The foundation of the program is education and referral. Peers from the community, experienced with the community or living with similar challenges, work to assist individuals improve their utilization of the system and improve their lives. Services include:

• Basic Intake and Assessment
• Treatment education
• Information and Referral focusing on linkage with primary medical care

Eligibility: HIV+, African American or Latino/a, living in Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays or Williamson Counties, and living at 200% or below of the 2011 U.S. Poverty Guidelines.

HIV Case Management

Client intake and assessment; information and referral; assistance accessing community resources; social support provided by professional case managers and/or supervised interns. Goals of the WHWC Case Management program are to assist clients to:

• Access and maintain primary medical care
• Adhere to HIV medical treatment
• Maintain/Increase quality of life
• Increase education and awareness of HIV/AIDS issues
• Identify and decrease barriers to services
• Increase continuity of care and coordination of services
• Increase self-sufficiency, ultimately to the point where case management services are no longer needed

Eligibility: HIV+, not currently enrolled in any other HIV Case Management program, living in the Austin HSDA - Blanco, Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis, or Williamson County, and living at 150% or below the 2011 U.S. Poverty Guidelines.

HIV Mental Health Services

Individual or Couples Counseling Services - Sessions are 50-minutes in length and are offered by Karen Breeding, MA, LPC or Michael Laster, M.Ed., LPC.

HIV Support Group - A weekly evening group for HIV-positive clients addressing personal, medical, health and relationship issues. Facilitated by Karen Breeding, MA, LPC.

Eligibility: HIV+, no other source of counseling services, living in Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays or Williamson Counties, living at 150% or below the 2011 U.S. Poverty Guidelines, and diagnosed with a mental illness.

HIV Transportation Services

The HIV Transportation Services Program provides transportation to eligible clients to core medical and support services. Assistance is provided through public transit, or in special cases, gas vouchers or taxicab rides. The program goal is to reduce barriers to accessing, maintaining, and adhering to primary health care and related social support services.Core Medical Services include:

• Medical
• Mental Health and Substance Abuse
• Dental
• Medical Case Management
• Pharmacies
• Home Health

Support Services include:

• Other social service agencies
• Non-medical Case Management
• Obtainment of food and other household/personal necessities

Eligibility: HIV+, living in Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays or Williamson Counties, demonstrated transportation need

Housing Assistance - Community Resources
Services are based on ability to meet eligibility requirements, availability of funding and severity of need and are not guaranteed.

HOPWA

Housing Assistance may be provided to eligible clients through the Housing for Persons Living with HIV Program (HOPWA). Assistance may be short or long-term and may include:

• Rental/Mortgage Assistance
• Utility Assistance

Eligibility: HIV+, demonstrated housing need, living in Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays or Williamson Counties, living at 30% or below the 2010 Austin Area Median income, and receiving Case Management services. These criteria are subject to change.

Best Single Source

Housing Assistance may be provided to eligible clients through the Best Single Source Program (BSS). Assistance is for short-term emergency situations and may include:

• Rental Assistance
• Utility Assistance

Eligibility: WHWC case managed client with a demonstrated short-term housing need (3 months), Travis County resident, determined by Case Manager.

For more information about MAI, Case Management, Mental Health, Transportation or Housing services, please contact MIchael Laster at 512-467-0088 or michael@thewrighthouse.org.

HIV Food Bank Services

Food Bank services provide nutritious food two times per month to clients living with HIV. The program has three goals:

• Help keep clients in primary medical care.
• Provide the best available quality and variety of food to supplement the limited food purchasing power of persons living with HIV/AIDS.
• Raise the quality and variety of food support available to persons who are HIV+ and unable to get supportive food assistance on a bi-weekly basis from any other source in the Austin TGA.

Eligibility: HIV+, living in Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays or Williamson Counties, living at 150% or below the 2011 U.S. Poverty Guidelines, not enrolled in any other HIV/AIDS food pantry programs, case managed, enrollment in Nutrition Services.

WHWC’s Food Pantry Services are provided through AIDS Services of Austin’s Helping Hands Food Pantry. You must be enrolled in this service by a WHWC Case Manager.

Complementary Health Therapies

Complementary Health Therapies help in the relief of side effects and symptoms of medications and chronic illness, increase energy, decrease the effects of stress, provide social and emotional support, and give individuals a sense of well-being and balance. The Complementary Health Therapies program is designed to:

• assist you with adherence to your medical treatments
• assist you with staying in primary medical care services
• assist with increasing or maintaining your quality of life
  

WHWC contracts with area practitioners for reduced or no-cost services and acts as a referral agency to practitioners and services. You may be charged a fee for services. Services provided may include:

• Massage Therapy - Manual soft tissue manipulation, includes holding, causing movement, and/or applying pressure to the body with the intention of positively affecting the health and well-being of the client.
• Acupuncture - The insertion of needles into particular parts of the body to relieve stress and pain. Helps improve overall energy, and decrease the discomfort due to side effects of antiviral medications.
• Chiropractic Care- The manipulation of the body by a Doctor of Chiropractic to correct misalignments in the neck, back and extremities to relieve nerve damage and pain.
• Energy Work (Reiki) - A method of balancing the body. It eases stress and tension and produces a balanced, relaxed state for body and mind.
• Iyengar Yoga - Most famous for its emphasis on proper alignment. Alignment of the bones and joints leads to better balance with less work of the muscles. Proper alignment improves circulation, creates inner space (literally in the joints), and brings a balanced flow of energy through the whole body, which leads to health and well being. Attention to alignment in yoga is much more than making a list of points to remember while performing asanas. It is about developing a body awareness that reaches into all aspects of life
  (http://www.bluespruceyoga.com/iyengargiubilaro.html).

Eligibility: Any WHWC client

For more information about Food Bank or Complementary Health Therapy services, please contact Vincetta Green at 512-236-8901 or vincetta@thewrighthouse.org.