Kathryn, a community follow-up worker at the entrance to our Bronx COBRA facility
COBRA Case Management
In the 15 years that Housing Works has been providing COBRA Case Management services, the program has worked with thousands of individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS, helping them access vital services such as medical care, mental heath care, substance use treatment, and housing.
The COBRA program specializes in working with individuals who have complex medical and psychosocial issues that make it difficult for them to access and stay connected to care.
Assessment and Referral
“When I found out I was HIV positive I had no health insurance, and I didn’t know who to tell or where to go.”
For many clients, COBRA Case Management is the gateway to a range of other services that are critical to their overall health and well-being. Case Managers complete a comprehensive assessment of each client’s needs and then link clients to the benefits, services and programs that best meet their individual needs. Case managers work closely with the clients to overcome any obstacles that might prevent them from getting the services they need.
Coordination of Care
“I felt like I was finally starting to get control over my substance use and my HIV treatments, then my doctor told my that my PAP test was abnormal.”
Effective treatments for HIV enable many people living with AIDS to effectively manage their HIV disease. However, as individuals with AIDS are living longer it has become apparent that they are at higher risk for onset of other serious medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cervical cancer. Managing multiple diseases simultaneously can be overwhelming, especially for those who are also struggling with mental health, substance use or housing issues. COBRA Case Managers work with each of the client’s health care and social service providers to facilitate effective coordination and communication among them, and assist clients with managing complicated treatment and appointment schedules.
Moving Toward Independence
“As a client, I was empowered to develop a sense of responsibility and accountability. I enrolled in the Second Life Job Training Program and ultimately became employed. Through my employment in the COBRA Case Management program I developed a great appreciation for the changes that the program can effect on the lives of the people it serves.”
The ultimate goals of COBRA Case Management are to improve clients’ quality of life and help each client toward the highest level of independent functioning they are capable of, regardless of how long that takes. Some clients require the support of the program for extended periods of time, others are able to stabilize their lives and function independently without case management. Clients who no longer need case management and are interested in pursuing educational or vocational opportunities are often referred to Housing Works Second Life Job Training program.
The COBRA Case Management Program is proud that 20 percent of it’s current staff are former clients who have graduated from the Job Training Program.
Of the 850 clients COBRA served this in Fiscal Year 2007-2008, 95 percent are receiving routine primary medical care. Now that’s a number we like.
HIV+ And Need Help?
If you are HIV+ and looking for case management assistance or help accessing government benefits that may be owed to you, sign up here
BETTERING THE BRONX
This year, we were proud to open our first COBRA office in the Bronx. The numbers about AIDS in the Bronx are hard to ignore. In 2006, 829 Bronx residents were diagnosed with HIV, 25 percent of the New York City total. In the same year, 357 Bronx residents died of AIDS, nearly a third of the city total.
With 14 staffers, the new Bronx office vastly improves our ability to serve the nearly 200 Housing Works COBRA clients who live in the borough. Says Vice President of COBRA Services Michael Clarke, “We’ve been extremely successful establishing relationships with other providers in the area. We’re fitting in well.”
One COBRA Client’s Story
By Hannah Thorne, COBRA Case Manager
As I sat down and begin to write about Alesia my head was brimming with thoughts of all of her personal accomplishments. No sooner than typing those first words I received a tearful phone call from the Alesia herself, reporting that she had recently relapsed. It had been months, she said, and she didn’t know why she did it; she couldn’t contain her disappointment.
I met Alesia two years ago when I began working as her Case Manager; it was at a time when things were looking up for her. Although her children had been removed from her care, she was finally taking the steps necessary to put her life back together and get them back. She was attending a treatment program, abstaining from drugs, and diligently taking care of her health. Soon though, it became clear that her efforts were too late, and her parental rights were going to be terminated. Alesia retreated once again into despair. In the next few months I visited her faithfully. Occasionally she would let me in and we would chat about getting her out of the house, getting back into treatment, restarting her HIV care, anything. More often than not, however, she would talk to me from behind the door, “Not now Hannah, I don’t feel well, come back another time.” It took months of visits and ultimately a visit from the marshal to get Alesia out of the house.
Once out, Alesia bloomed. She completed in-patient drug treatment, enrolled in an out-patient program, groups, individual counseling, every type of service one could imagine. Each month she proudly came in with another Narcotics Anonymous chip she had received, another certificate to show me.
But in that recent, tearful phone call she said the words that make me more proud than any of her other milestones could. “I know what to do Hannah,” she said. “I’ve done it before, and I can do it again, I’ll go right back to groups, right back to meetings, you’ll see”. I know we will.
