CONSUMERS COMMITTEE
Tuesday, March 24, 2020 1:00PM – 2:30PM
By Zoom Videoconference
M I N U T E S
- People are having access issues. Objective is to hear from consumers
- Food in SROs is a problem
- No cooking facilities
- Transportation is a problem
- Concern about income and ability to pay bills
- Concern about how to get food
- Folks don’t know where programs are
- RWPA is changing to service delivery
- Providers are doing pantry bags
- Lifted cap on meals per week
- Switch from congregate to carry home meals
- Waived requirement for physician referral for delivery
- Public Health Solutions website has a site locator that can be used to find services
- Movement of money must follow the rules of the Council
- Do people in SROs qualify for meal delivery?
- Two (2) home delivery contracts
- Grantee will check in to survey capacity of agencies to ramp up delivery
- Tri-County:
- Need for resources
- Strong need for transportation to access food and supplies
- Food distribution situation forced everyone into cabs to go to the grocery store. Agencies are no longer producing pantry bags.
- How are consumers supposed to access food voucher gift cards
- Food limitations are severe in time of crisis.
- Not allowed to purchase frozen meals
- Cans of soup
- Need for flexibility
- Request for additional shopping sites and a richer resource guide for the area
- Once finances are depleted what are people to do?
- No toilet paper in the city
- Allowing intakes over the phone
- Crazy waitlists for delivery services – requires a wait of week or more
- Can agencies with pantries stay open in Tri-County
- Grantee will investigate
- Housing
- Ensuring a robust emergency preparedness plan.
- Receiving requests for rent arrears support and additional housing assistance
- Relaxed standards but ensured that crisis intervention services are available
- Working on protocols on how to best deliver services in light of COVID-19
- A lot of anxiety and fear about getting infected. People are scared. No directive from the management. People are afraid. Some are on dialysis.
- Concerns around housing – disinfection and cleanliness.
- Plan to provide assistance to long term survivors
- 47 people in the building
- People running out of SNAP benefits
- People are afraid they will be forgotten
- In Tri-County many buses are not charging for rides
- Some utilities are not requiring immediate payment – no shut offs – arranegements possible
- Spectrum offering free wifi if you have a child at home
- Can’t get gloves, masks, alcohol – both agency and insurance. Can only get things in cases
- Can we get the federal money without being penalized by HASA?
- Is it possible to donate blood with antibodies for study?
- Be careful of spreading misinformation – no evidence that more people with HIV are getting COVID
- Necessary to take care of self
- Congregate housing
- Any plan to reach out to these clients – make sure they have the basic info on social distancing
- May not have TV or the internet
- Make sure that clientele of all programs is ok
- Any plan to reach out to these clients – make sure they have the basic info on social distancing
- How can we create directives that ensure agencies do all of this
- Social isolation is a serious issue
- Possible to do check ins with clients –
- Find out if clients have a thermometer
- Would guidance on how to conduct a check in be helpful for agencies?
- Programs have been contacted and are working hard to meet the needs of their clients
- Mental health treatment being conducted online
- Selfhelp.net is a good resource
- What privacy is in place for accessing data for clients
- Providers are bound by laws
- It is unclear what programs are still open and updated operating hours.
- Important to call or check the website
- Perception is that all programs are closed and everything is being done remotely – By and large this is true
- Home page of nyhiv.org has a link to a resource guide.
- Iris House is open
- Has the intake been streamlined –
- Is able to be conducted over the phone
- Being paid 1/12’th of their award
- Eventually the intake will have to be completed
- Currently not checking
- Eligibility will need to be completed by time DOHMH resumes site visits
- Assessments are necessary to understand services required
- Programs are getting paid regardless – if people do not qualify, strong likelihood agency will not be provided
- Are homebound individuals being checked on – agencies that have homebound clients
- Home attendant has to come into a persons home – clock in and clock out.
- Considered essential work
- Agencies should give attendants guidance
- Fear of people coming into people’s home due to the virus
- PPE not being provided in many instances
- Media said that HIV meds may be useful in the fight against COVID-19
- Important to understand how long the virus lives on different surfaces
Tuesday, April 7th, 2020 1:00PM – 2:30PM
- Agreement to open regular Consumers Committee to hosting a town hall on COVID-19 & HIV.
- Ethical guidelines around who gets the ventilator, who gets priority – question of state guidelines around HIV
- Least likely to survive are the least likely to get a ventilator
- GMHC is doing meal delivery, and no reported COVID deaths
- Need for data on how people are being impacted
- Ask Oni to explain the data breakdown along neighborhood and race
- HASA wanted a hospital paperwork before they would release rental assistance
- Shortage of basic medicine in certain places. Zinc, Tylenol,
- South Bronx is a hot spot
- Map of zip codes
- Consumers working in congregate home – has symptoms, but no fever, cant get test – but is an essential worker – could be exposing people
- Recruit from FACES – to help bring in consumers
- People are living in severe isolation- so isolated and so confused – not taking meds anymore. No one is asking about meds
- People aren’t allowing case managers into the homes
- Grantee has asked programs to check in at least once and as necessary thereafter
- Is it possible to get a buddy system among peers –
- Real need to expand the voices of the community on the call – possibly a lot we are not hearing
- Should invite VOCAL
- Can recruit and market for the next Consumers Committee
- What can be done to address social isolation?
- Issues with implementing a new program
- Many staff are working from home
- Question of confidentiality
- Do consumers really want it
- Can’t be procured
- Can system afford it
- A volunteer program isn’t possible
- Could be a volunteer
- Congregate, scatter site, 50-50 program – where you have 2 people in a unit with shared common areas.
- 2 housing programs are checking in with clients daily
- Something peer based would be being built from the ground-up outside of that structure
- How do we start thinking about addressing social isolation?
- The 50-50 programs need more guidance. Lack of adherence to social distancing guidelines
- Need is likely to grow the longer the crisis continues
- Lack of social distancing guidance in general
- PPE is not being provided by agencies with staff going for home visits.
- Should be required.
- How long are the masks effective?
- Depends on agency – some are well trained and understand how to be safer
