Mobilizing a medical home to improve HIV care for the homeless in Washington, DC.

Abstract

African Americans face a higher burden of HIV infection, morbidity, and mortality than other ethnic groups in the United States. As an organization that exists to serve the homeless and impoverished of Washington, DC, So Others Might Eat (SOME) works diligently to address this disparity. SOME's clients are primarily African Americans who often face obstacles to HIV care because of low socioeconomic status, mistrust of the medical establishment, and fear of being identified as HIV positive. We relate the lessons we learned at SOME's medical clinic while trying to better address the needs of our clients living with HIV/AIDS. Chief among those lessons was the need to shift from considering our patients "noncompliant" with their HIV-related care to recognizing they had needs we were not addressing.