Our Programs

 
 Transition Program
Our transitional housing is limited in duration usually several months up to 2 years, on average our residents stay in this program for 1 year. Its intention is to help people transition from a housing crisis into a permanent, stable housing situation. Their crisis may have been caused by a medical condition in-which they ended up in the hospital, a loss of employment, homelessness or stays in a homeless shelter, and/or other effects of the disease progression of HIV/AIDS.

Our focus and goal in this program is to provide temporary housing and services to individuals to ensure access to healthcare, increase medication education and adherence, promote a healthy diet and lifestyle, connect with community resources and access available benefits allowing for further medical stabilization and the opportunity to secure permanent housing. This program is ideal for the individual that temporarily needs an extra hand and support to regain their independence. Often it is necessary to assist individuals in developing the skills and ongoing resources to succeed in permanent housing.

 Permanent Program
We provide lifelong care for people with end-stage illness as well as those who are unable to live independently due to other physical or mental disabilities. Our permanent program is designed for individuals that need an array of support services in order to maintain stabilization. The support services are offered to complement the housing and without this support, they would have a difficult time maintaining their medical, physical, and emotional well-being. The services may include case management, home health and hospice care, nutritional meals, crisis intervention, legal assistance, transportation, mental health and substance abuse therapies. Often these services are provided in collaboration with other HIV/AIDS service providers. Vigil services are provided when a resident is approaching death so that no one ever dies alone. We may hold their hand, read to them, or simply be present with them.


 Supervised Independent Living Program
The Independent Living philosophy postulates that people utilizing the services are the best experts on their needs, and therefore they must take the initiative, individually and collectively, in designing and promoting better solutions. They must organize themselves, in conjunction with the staff of Project Lazarus, to establish healthy options of communal living as they focus on increasing their control and self-determination in everyday life to the fullest and highest degree of freedom possible within the parameters of Project Lazarus.

Project Lazarus’ Supervised Independent Living Program is designed as a progression to permanent housing. Residents of this program have increased their knowledge of their disease process and their ability to manage their daily life. This program offers residents more autonomy and the opportunity and responsibility of greater independence.

Staff supports, are more limited than in the Residential Programs of Houses One, Two and Three and are focused on residents’ practicing independent living skills, including: self-care, cooking, cleaning, money management, leisure time planning and an increased social living skills. Residents may also work on accepting greater responsibility for self-medication.

Supervised Independent Living residents will have a commitment of work, school or volunteerism inside and/or outside of the program. This requirement will be individualized based on the resident’s physical, medical and overall emotional well-being, but the expectation is that a daily and/or a weekly commitment to meet these goals.

The goal of service provision in the independent living program is resident empowerment and skill building in an independent living environment. Whenever possible, the staff will prompt the resident in skill development or advocating on their own behalf.


 Emergency Housing and/or Utilities Assistance Program
Our current emergency assistance is funded by the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). This allows us to assist individuals with their rent, mortgage, or utilities one time in a calendar year who are on the verge of eviction or losing their power. 


 Emotional Wellness and Therapeutic Services
Lazarus has implemented and continuesd to increase the level of mental health services and education that we provide to residents. We implemented elements of the Positive Self-Management Program (PSMP), which focuses on the following: 1) incorporating your medication regimens, 2) techniques to deal with problems with ongoing stressors and other emotional issues, 3) understanding the need for exercise and endurance, 4) communicating effectively with family, friends, and health professionals, 5) nutrition, 6) understanding and evaluation of symptoms 7) advanced directives and 8) evaluating and utilizing alternative treatments.

We currently have two wellness classes each week facilitated by a licensed therapist trained in dance/movement and other alternative modalities to engage individuals into a therapeutic relationship. The group process helps to empower and assist individuals to find their voice and achieve their goals. This process empowers residents as they face the daily struggles of living with HIV/AIDS. In a non-threatening process, they are able to freely express themselves in attempt to regain their autonomy as they strive to return to more autonomy or to maximize their independence within healthy limits of their medical condition.

Within the framework of the PSMP philosophy, we will address the emotional and mental health, and lifestyle changes that occur for all people and specific challenges faced by people living with HIV/AIDS. Evidenced based research indicates that stress, anger, body image, and anxiety are significant impediments to a healthy lifestyle. Through educational sessions, participants will increase their understanding how diet, exercise, and emotional wellness is essential and helpful to increase their coping skills as they implement the cognitive-behavioral changes to improve their quality of life.

Additionally, we have added a monthly educational multi-family educational meeting for family, friends and significant others to increase the understanding of the HIV/AIDS disease process and other medical issues. This group is co-facilitated by our LPN and social worker. This group is not just valuable to those infected by HIV, but also those affected by HIV/AIDS. It allows family and friends to come together without shame and stigma to further understand the disease process and the significance of addressing the whole person in order to maximize the positive effects of their medicines and advances in medical care.


 Substance Abuse Program
Fully fifty percent of all residents who present for housing at Project Lazarus have an active problem with the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. By providing residents with in-house substance abuse treatment, we are able to offer much-needed services to this traditionally under-served population.

Upon arrival at Project Lazarus, each incoming resident who endorses a history of substance abuse walks through a thorough assessment and diagnosis process. Once the initial assessment phase is completed, counselor and client collaborate to develop a treatment plan which includes four to six hours of group counseling per week; individual sessions; psychiatric services; and/or Twelve-Step sponsorship and meeting attendance. Residents who require more intensive services than the in-house program is able to provide are referred to programs which provide the appropriate level of care.

In terms of therapeutic modalities, the substance abuse counselor delivers psychoeducational interventions, motivational enhancement techniques, coping skills training, relapse prevention planning, 12-Step perspectives, and, when needed, treatment for co-occurring disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Program policies are guided by a philosophy of harm reduction, where clients who are not yet willing to commit to total abstinence from alcohol and other drugs are empowered to make incremental steps toward the reduction of substance use, with an eye toward eventual total abstinence from drugs of abuse.