Oregon Balance of State HIV/AIDS Housing & Services Systems ...

Oregon HIV/AIDS Housing and Services Systems Integration Plan 33
Coordinating services integration is a particular challenge in rural areas. The multi-county Eastern
Oregon Human Services Consortium (EOHSC) is one potential venue for improving systems
integration. The EOHSC is a cooperative body of community mental health programs that addresses
the practicalities of delivering mental health, alcohol and drug treatment, and developmental
disability services to the widespread communities of Eastern Oregon, and represents the region’s
interests to the state legislature. EOHSC includes the counties of Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood
River, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, and Wheeler. 72
Human Services and Public Assistance
The most recent Oregon HIV/AIDS needs assessment estimated that two-thirds of people living
with HIV/AIDS across the state have incomes below the federal poverty level. 73 People living with
HIV/AIDS frequently have an array of basic needs that are common to low-income people in
general, that also may be linked to their medical condition. These can include food and nutritional
assistance, medical insurance, transportation, hygiene, family support, and general financial needs.
Many clients rely on entitlement programs, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), which are administered directly by the federal
government, and provide income support for people with disabilities. Clients may also seek and
receive assistance from faith-based or other private relief organizations, which comprise an
important part of the “safety net” in many communities.
While mainstream public assistance and human service programs sometimes meet the needs of
people living with HIV/AIDS as they are, this population sometimes needs enhanced assistance. For
example, some HIV/AIDS medications require high-calorie diets, and consumers with low incomes
often need assistance purchasing food and designing well-balanced diets that meet those
requirements.
In the survey of service providers for this needs assessment, while 81 percent of respondents from
HIV/AIDS agencies said that they had partnerships for food assistance, half of all respondents said
that food and nutritional assistance was insufficient in their region. Fifty-six percent felt that
increasing access to mainstream services such as food stamps and SSI/SSDI was one of the highest
priorities for systems integration.
The primary resources for meeting human services and general assistance needs (beyond what is
covered by federal disability entitlements for those who qualify) tend to be state and local public
assistance programs – historically known as welfare. The largest of these programs, Temporary Aid
to Needy Families (TANF) and food stamps, are federally funded but administered by state agencies
– in Oregon, by the Department of Human Services (DHS) Children, Adults and Families
(CAF) Division. DHS also administers (through its Division of Medical Assistance Programs) the
Oregon Health Plan, the state’s vehicle for administering Medicaid and other health funds, which
may cover some basic services. Integration efforts among these programs has historically taken
place at the level of state administrators, but integrated strategies must be reinforced at the local
72
Eastern Oregon Human Services Consortium. Available online: http://www.eoddr.com/aboutEohsc.html (Accessed: November 30,
2007).
73
Oregon Department of Human Services, Program Design and Evaluation Services. We Listened…2005: Survey for People Living
with HIV and AIDS in Oregon. Available online: http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/hiv/services/needs/reports.shtml (Accessed:
November 27, 2007).