Medical

TRANFORMATION STORIES

Jody -- Medical Programs and EMERGE

“I hit rock bottom when I became homeless, was HIV+ and in my mid-40s,” reveals Jody, who was also arrested for drug possession.

On-Site Residential Medical Programs
No one should have to worry about being homeless—and all of the associated challenges that come with it—when recovering from or dealing with a physical illness or injury. In fact, being homeless often slows the recovery process or causes a new set of health issues. Knowing this, the Weingart Center Association in collaboration with the JWCH Institute offers residential medical programs to assist individuals who are homeless and experiencing health problems.

All of our residential medical programs provide participants with the basic necessities:

Transitional housing
Daily meals
Laundry
Toiletries

We also give participants:

Individualized case management and counseling services

Recuperative Care
Our Recuperative Care program provides transitional housing and medical treatment to individuals discharged to the streets from area hospitals who are recovering from serious illness or injury, but do not require full hospital care. Registered nurses staff the Recuperative Care program and provide 24-hour care.

Recuperative Care began at the Weingart Center Association in 1994 as the first program of its kind and is still one of only two in the Los Angeles area that provides this type of service.

HIV/AIDS Programs
We help people with HIV/AIDS by giving them a safe, non-stigmatized environment to live in, counseling to deal with the diagnosis and better access to available benefits. The multi-lingual and multi-cultural staff is expressly trained to work with HIV+ men and women in an effective and sensitive manner. Our HIV specialists provide case management services that include:

Individual and group counseling
Benefits acquisition
Referrals to outside resources designed to meet the specialized needs of the HIV+ individual
Section 8 housing and other permanent housing referrals

Our goal is to assist at least 70% of our participants in accessing more traditional and permanent housing alternatives so that they can get off the streets and live in a safe environment.

The Weingart Center Association and JWCH have served HIV+ men and women since 1983 and began specialized HIV programs in 1990.