Running Our House Takes a Dedicated Staff & Volunteers

By Nikki Jardin

The building comes closer to looking like a comfortable, upscale apartment complex than the residential medical facility that it is. Walk into the sunlit lobby and one is met by both a cheerful receptionist and a tastefully decorated, welcome space. Around the corner conversation is friendly and lively over a breakfast meal and classical music plays, unobtrusively, in the background. The entrance itself feels like an embrace.

This is Our House, a residential center for low-income men and women suffering from HIV/AIDS. This building is three years old and replaced an older, cramped facility that didn’t allow staff and residents to have the kind of intimate connection they share now. The planning and the architecture of the space was deliberate.
“We didn’t want to make a clinical building, we wanted the residence to look like part of the surrounding community,” Events Coordinator James Lindquist says as he leads a tour of the building’s dining faculties, recreation room and out into a well-manicured yard space where two residents relax in the summer sun. Back in the building, Lindquist proudly displays the occupational therapy room. Explaining the significance he says, “Originally, Our House was a hospice where people could come and die with dignity. But, the therapy center makes us different from a hospice and helps continue to recognize our core values.” Core values that include resourcefulness. Some residents may find themselves rehabilitating to the point of independent living outside of the 24-hour care facility into one of the other Our House programs.

Our house also operates Swan House, a 5-bed independent living facility that offers weekly health care visits along with the same social work and occupational opportunities that are available to full time Our House residents. A third program, the Neighborhood Housing and Care Program (NHCP) helps individuals find their way into permanent housing and offers in-home medical visits.
Executive Director Wayne Mira explains the scope of Our House’s mission.

“We have a philosophy of care that integrates our core values of respect and compassion into our work. We don’t make judgments, we meet our residents where they are and help them in the best way we can.”

Our House residents typically come from a transient or homeless population. Many have issues that range well beyond the physical debilitation that comes from living with HIV/AIDS. Surprisingly, Mira concludes that sometimes a patients HIV status is the least of a patient’s concerns.

“Yes, Sometimes HIV is among the minor issues that we are treating for. All of our clients are way below poverty level. They exist on SSI, many have mental illness and/or a history of substance abuse or chronic illness like diabetes. Many of our residents have a very complicated medical history. One change we’ve seen over the years is higher patient acuity and the medical issues are becoming more complicated.”

Mira explains that though these complications can be challenging, Our House isn’t interested in working within a one-fits-all model for the patients. What may work well for one person in regards to drug or alcohol rehabilitation or a prescription for determining a plan to address mental illness won’t work across the board. The staff at our house works with patients on an individual basis.

“We don’t want to determine what’s best for our residents, but we want to help each person determine what is best for him or her in order to live well; we want to lengthen their ability to stay independent. We try, based upon our core values, to determine what the client needs whether that mean hospice care until they pass or whether they are striving towards independence.”

The 40 person staff stays busy not only operating the three main programs, also run two direct need services. Esther’s Panty and Tom’s Corner provide up to 200 clients a month with food, clothing, personal care items, even dog and cat food. The recent downturn in the economy has strained these resources greatly.

“The need at Esther’s Pantry has increased tenfold, and there isn’t any government funding for the pantry, so we’re providing a good service at a time of very high need.”

Along with the paid staff, Our House has a volunteer roster of 120. If you would like to contribute time or money to any of Our House’s programs, please visit their website or call 503-234-0175.