People come to Maitri for a multitude of reasons, but the focus of our care is helping people meet their personal health goals. For many, that means helping them learn or re-learn how to manage their HIV infection while working towards improving other major medical issues.
When Jason came to Maitri, he knew he needed to focus on regaining his strength. A staph infection had caused him to be bedridden in a hospital for months–eventually leading to losing most of the musculature in his legs and losing nearly 20% of his weight.
At Maitri he worked with our nursing team to coordinate his medications while meeting with his physical therapist to re-learn how to walk with the help of a walker. This, combined with the meals he ate at Maitri, meant that Jason was soon able to walk independently–months before his care team expected!
As he regained his independence, Jason started working with his Maitri care team to leave and plan out the rest of his life. But, he soon ran into a uniquely San Francisco problem: finding affordable housing.
While he was hospitalized, he had lost his housing and needed to find a place of his own. But living on social security meant that he had limited options in his price range.
Jason’s Maitri social worker helped him figure out his options and create a budget that would work for him. They also identified some benefit programs that Jason could apply for that would help him pay for his rent and expand his budget.
Within a month, Jason was approved for a subsidy and signed his lease for his own apartment!
What had started out as a dream he might never reach became a reality because of his care team and the resources they connected him to.
Today, Jason is preparing to move out. He has the support of his Maitri care team and is looking forward to living on his own again. He’s also signed up to join Maitri’s BRANCH Aftercare Program to help him maintain his housing and keep coming back for events, therapy, and of course, weekly bingo games.