HIV Care Services: • Care Coordination Services for HIV positive individuals and their families living in Mendocino County. This includes coordination of care with community service providers for both medical and psychosocial services. • Practical assistance with food, transportation, housing access; benefits advocacy; and referral to medical and addiction treatment providers. • Harm reduction counseling, social groups, and supportive counselling.

HCV Care and Advocacy Services: •  Care Coordination services for individuals with active Hepatitis C in need of a medical provider and monitoring for disease progression. Both practical assistance and care coordination, which includes medical referral and monitoring, benefits advocacy, housing, transportation and food, as well as support groups and counseling for those who are interested in or are currently in treatment for their HCV disease. • Advocacy trainings for clients including the basics of hepatitis C issues, liver health, life skills, and learning to manage side- effects of treatment. • Facilitation of trainings for medical providers regarding monitoring and treating hepatitis C. • Support groups for any community member (or family members) dealing with a diagnosis of HCV.

Mental Health Services and Intensive Outpatient Case Management (IOPCM): • dentify, intake and assess individuals with moderate to severe mental health or co-occurring disorders  and/or chronic health issues who have high utilization of emergency departments medical services and/or jail services, and who have experienced serious barriers to obtaining and engaging with available community resources. • Refer, link, and monitor services for primary medical and behavioral health care; delivering case management, rehab and therapy services for those with severe behavioral health issues. • Assess substance use and current level of engagement for recovery services (12-step based treatment, harm reduction, supportive counseling, etc). • Identify housing resources, make applications on behalf of clients, and monitor housing stability and capability. • Work with jail staff, Probation Department staff, the Public Defenders and District Attorney's offices to ensure that alternatives to incarceration are offered and considered on a case by case basis.

Syringe Exchange: With a harm reduction philosophy, the MCAVHN syringe exchange program seeks to reduce the spread of HIV/HCV among persons who share drug equipment (works, cookers, syringes, cotton, etc), and reduce overdose deaths. Syringes can be exchanged through a variety of trained volunteers throughout the county. Syringes are also available at the Ukiah office at 148 Clara Ave. MCAVHN also provides training on overdose and overdose prevention among injection drug users. The training focuses on the skills of persons who inject drugs and how to reduce overdoses and overdose deaths. The program also supplies Narcan (naloxone), a proven antidote for heroin and other opiate drugs derived from or resembling opium. Used in the US since 1965, Narcan, unlike some antidotes, has no effects on its own. It only reverses the effects of opiates for about an hour. This means injecting Narcan into a vein or muscle can take away the opiate part of the overdose within minutes and restore the person's breathing and consciousness. To learn more about this program contact MCAVHN at (707) 462-1932 or email mcavhn@yahoo.com. For messages concerning delivery options, please call (707) 621-1072.

The Shelter Project: MCAVHN is the lead agency for an effort that began in 2014 to address the emergency and temporary needs for homeless citizens in our community who are the most vulnerable: those having chronic illnesses and/or mental health challenges which continue to make significant barriers to the access of permanent housing. Background: When it appeared that there would be no winter shelter available in Ukiah for the winter of 2015-2016, MCAVHN decided to join with a group called the Homeless Services Action Group to work toward a solution to this problem.  Since many of the potentioal clients for the planned shelter also use MCAVHN services, it was a logical choice for MCAVHN take over operation of the planned shelter, meaning that a new 501(c)3 organization would not have to be created.  In late August, 2015, an industrial warehouse building was located in the area set aside by the city for homeless shelters, and the project began to take shape. The process of raising funds involved many trips to the Board of Supervisors’ meetings and the City Council.  The city eventually agreed to a $30,000 donation, and the county matched that and also offered another $30,000 if the Group could raise an additional $30,000.  We were lucky to receive $10,000 from the Community Foundation and $10,000 from Ukiah Valley Medical Group.  Over $11,000 in additional funds was raised in smaller amounts, and that process continues. In addition to this fundraising activity, preparation of the building involved the efforts of many volunteers .  Volunteers cleaned the warehouse, painted walls, set up partitions donated by the county, re-floored the bathroom, created an ADA ramp for the shower trailer, installed the washer-dryer pairs donated by the Sheriff, set up the donated cots, and many other activities.  We couldn’t have opened without all of the volunteer effort. Nine people were hired to staff the shelter, and MCAVHN continues to manage the budget, pay the bills, handle the payroll, and house many of the clients during the day in inclement weather.  Libby, our Executive Director, responds to night-time emergencies as well as managing her regular staff. Since we opened the shelter, we’ve been at capacity most nights, and have had only a small number of calls to the Ukiah Police Department.  On occasion, people have to be turned away, because of our 47-bed limit.  Beds are allotted by vulnerability, but it’s always difficult to send someone out into the rain.   It’s been a learning experience, but a positive one, knowing that some of our most vulnerable citizens have a warm and dry place to sleep.

HIV Care Services: • Care Coordination Services for HIV positive individuals and their families living in Mendocino County. This includes coordination of care with community service providers for both medical and psychosocial services. • Practical assistance with food, transportation, housing access; benefits advocacy; and referral to medical and addiction treatment providers. • Harm reduction counseling, social groups, and supportive counselling.

HCV Care and Advocacy Services: •  Care Coordination services for individuals with active Hepatitis C in need of a medical provider and monitoring for disease progression. Both practical assistance and care coordination, which includes medical referral and monitoring, benefits advocacy, housing, transportation and food, as well as support groups and counseling for those who are interested in or are currently in treatment for their HCV disease. • Advocacy trainings for clients including the basics of hepatitis C issues, liver health, life skills, and learning to manage side-effects of treatment. • Facilitation of trainings for medical providers regarding monitoring and treating hepatitis C. • Support groups for any community member (or family members) dealing with a diagnosis of HCV.

Mental Health Services and Intensive Outpatient Case Management (IOPCM): • Identify, intake and assess individuals with moderate to severe mental health or co-occurring disorders  and/or chronic health issues who have high utilization of emergency departments medical services and/or jail services, and who have experienced serious barriers to obtaining and engaging with available community resources. • Refer, link, and monitor services for primary medical and behavioral health care; delivering case management, rehab and therapy services for those with severe behavioral health issues. • Assess substance use and current level of engagement for recovery services (12-step based treatment, harm reduction, supportive counseling, etc). • Identify housing resources, make applications on behalf of clients, and monitor housing stability and capability. • Work with jail staff, Probation Department staff, the Public Defenders and District Attorney's offices to ensure that alternatives to incarceration are offered and considered on a case by case basis.

Syringe Exchange: With a harm reduction philosophy, the MCAVHN syringe exchange program seeks to reduce the spread of HIV/HCV among persons who share drug equipment (works, cookers, syringes, cotton, etc), and reduce overdose deaths. Syringes can be exchanged through a variety of trained volunteers throughout the county. Syringes are also available at the Ukiah office at 148 Clara Ave. MCAVHN also provides training on overdose and overdose prevention among injection drug users. The training focuses on the skills of persons who inject drugs and how to reduce overdoses and overdose deaths. The program also supplies Narcan (naloxone), a proven antidote for heroin and other opiate drugs derived from or resembling opium. Used in the US since 1965, Narcan, unlike some antidotes, has no effects on its own. It only reverses the effects of opiates for about an hour. This means injecting Narcan into a vein or muscle can take away the opiate part of the overdose within minutes and restore the person's breathing and consciousness. To learn more about this program contact MCAVHN at (707) 462-1932 or email mcavhn@yahoo.com. For messages concerning delivery options, please call (707) 621-1072.

The Shelter Project: MCAVHN is the lead agency for an effort that began in 2014 to address the emergency and temporary needs for homeless citizens in our community who are the most vulnerable: those having chronic illnesses and/or mental health challenges which continue to make significant barriers to the access of permanent housing. Background: When it appeared that there would be no winter shelter available in Ukiah for the winter of 2015-2016, MCAVHN decided to join with a group called the Homeless Services Action Group to work toward a solution to this problem.  Since many of the potentioal clients for the planned shelter also use MCAVHN services, it was a logical choice for MCAVHN take over operation of the planned shelter, meaning that a new 501(c)3 organization would not have to be created.  In late August, 2015, an industrial warehouse building was located in the area set aside by the city for homeless shelters, and the project began to take shape. The process of raising funds involved many trips to the Board of Supervisors’ meetings and the City Council.  The city eventually agreed to a $30,000 donation, and the county matched that and also offered another $30,000 if the Group could raise an additional $30,000.  We were lucky to receive $10,000 from the Community Foundation and $10,000 from Ukiah Valley Medical Group.  Over $11,000 in additional funds was raised in smaller amounts, and that process continues. In addition to this fundraising activity, preparation of the building involved the efforts of many volunteers .  Volunteers cleaned the warehouse, painted walls, set up partitions donated by the county, re-floored the bathroom, created an ADA ramp for the shower trailer, installed the washer-dryer pairs donated by the Sheriff, set up the donated cots, and many other activities.  We couldn’t have opened without all of the volunteer effort. Nine people were hired to staff the shelter, and MCAVHN continues to manage the budget, pay the bills, handle the payroll, and house many of the clients during the day in inclement weather.  Libby, our Executive Director, responds to night-time emergencies as well as managing her regular staff. Since we opened the shelter, we’ve been at capacity most nights, and have had only a small number of calls to the Ukiah Police Department.  On occasion, people have to be turned away, because of our 47-bed limit.  Beds are allotted by vulnerability, but it’s always difficult to send someone out into the rain.   It’s been a learning experience, but a positive one, knowing that some of our most vulnerable citizens have a warm and dry place to sleep.