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COVID-19 and San Diego’s HIV/AIDS Community

By Michael Lochner

05/07/2020
in Community, Feature, Featured, Features, Health & Fitness, News
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COVID-19 and San Diego’s HIV/AIDS Community
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During this coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, what is happening in San Diego’s HIV/AIDS community to keep consumers safe? With the state of California and thus, the County of San Diego, currently on a stay-at-home order, services needed by the HIV community have taken on a different look. Patrick Loose, chief of the HIV, STD and Hepatitis Branch (HSHB) of Public Health Services for San Diego County, wished to convey the following message to the HIV community: “This is a scary time for many of you and there are many ways you can still access services without leaving your homes.”

Many services are now being handled over the phone to ensure the safety of clients, as well as the staff. When a face-to-face meeting is required, face masks are required as per the county health order. The HIV/AIDS community can call their case managers or their medical provider for further details. Most pharmacies have made changes as well by either delivering prescriptions or mailing prescriptions to clients.

HSHB Chief Loose quickly went to the HIV Planning Group (which makes decisions regarding Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funding) and received their approval on some changes to ensure that no one in San Diego County living with HIV/AIDS would suffer during this coronavirus crisis. Loose (“Recipient” in the following statements) recommended the following:

Because of COVID-19, many contingency plans are needed to ensure continuity of services. During this unprecedented time, we are seeking ways to be most helpful and responsive to the population we serve. The Recipient anticipates increased requests for Emergency Housing Assistance and Home-Delivered Meals as employment is scaled back and people are required to stay home and/or self-isolating.

In the most recently completed contract year (March 1, 2019 to Feb. 29, 2020), there were several service categories that were not fully spent. HSHB recommends reducing allocations in the current year to Oral Health by $50,000 and Mental Health by $62,000 and moving those savings to other service categories to support persons living with HIV who are negatively impacted by the pandemic.

The Recipient further recommends increasing Emergency Housing Assistance by $50,000. Emergency Housing Assistance includes several programs designed to increase access to stable housing for persons living with HIV, including payment of short-term hotel stays, payment of the first two months’ rent, payment to prevent eviction, and payment of a monthly subsidy to reduce the cost of housing for persons who are experiencing short-term financial difficulties. For short-term hotel stays, the Recipient is also recommending that the annual cap be increased from two weeks (14 days) to six weeks (42 days) during the declared public health emergency.

The Recipient further recommends that the HIV Planning Group establish “Short-Term Partial Assistance Rental Subsidy (PARS),” which provides the benefits of PARS for up to six months, with enrollments to cease upon the end of the public health emergency declaration. The Recipient also recommends that the HIV Planning Group increase funding for Home-Delivered Meals by $62,000 to support temporary increased capacity during the public health emergency. Specifically, this service would be made available to persons living with diagnosed HIV who are ambulatory but who have particular vulnerabilities related to COVID-19 (age, other chronic health conditions) that are best addressed by minimizing all contact with persons outside of their homes.

All recommendations were approved by the San Diego HIV Planning Group at its monthly meeting held by teleconference via Webex. All HIV Planning Group subcommittees are continuing to take place via Webex.

Loose also stated: “The No. 1 priority of the HIV, STD and Hepatitis Branch is that consumers continue to have access to a broad array of services to ensure the success of their treatment. This office meets weekly with all Ryan White providers to identify what’s working and where we need to focus our efforts on.”

If consumer have any questions, they can call their case managers or Patrick Loose directly at 619-293-4709 for details and requirements. During this crisis, if anyone needs to talk to a mental health counselor due to feelings of helplessness or depression, contact either a case manager or medical provider to set up an appointment for mental health treatment.

Sincerely,

Mikie

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Read our digital edition

Volume 4, Issue 9, February 2023

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AIDS Memorial Groundbreaking to be Held February 1 AIDS Memorial Groundbreaking to be Held February 10th!. For over 35 years, there has been a campaign for San Diego to join cities across North America to establish an AIDS Memorial honoring and remembering the over 8,500 men, women, and children who have died of AIDS. Read full story on the link below.

http://ow.ly/16rR50ML1EG
The Devil is alive in the United States, and it li The Devil is alive in the United States, and it lives in right wing, Republican driven state legislators. According to an article written by Matt Loffman for PBS, the Human Rights Campaign has identified 30 state legislators who proposed more than 115 bills targeting Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Non-Binary rights in their states. Everything from participation in sports to accessing medical care has been attacked. According to a poll conducted by PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist fewer than 3 in 10 people support any anti-Trans legislation, yet the Republic legislators continue to introduce and vote for all of them. It is hard to understand why these Republicans are voted into office over and over when they obviously do not reflect the wishes of their constituents. click link to read more

http://ow.ly/smtK50MIEEA
What started as a personal social media project vi What started as a personal social media project via Instagram during the pandemic, Hillcrest San Diego has become a 10K subscriber resource for news, history, memes, and all things Hillcrest. We caught up with Rick Cervantes the force behind the account to get to know more about the motivation behind it, the plans for the Instagram account and the upcoming inaugural #hillcrestsandiego Honors with its reception schedule for Monday February 6 at Uptown tavern to honor local community members and organizations.
Read the full Interview on the link below
http://ow.ly/OJ9k50MIEBZ
Our community has been built on the need for resou Our community has been built on the need for resources and support, and sectors in our community have also been called to create organizations that enrich and serve their own specific needs. One such organization is the San Diego LGBTQ Coalition.  Read full article on the link below
https://lgbtqsd.news/san-diego-black-lgbtq-coalition-a-stronger-front-for-the-betterment-of-the-community/
Read all our February Issue Articles on our websit Read all our February Issue Articles on our website!
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