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The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has just announced that they've received a new three-year, $2.9 million Innovation Grant from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health!
The grant will support the expansion of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s health and mental health services, which benefit many uninsured individuals affected by health issues such as HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis, diabetes, obesity and cardiopulmonary disease.
Details after the jump!
The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center is known for offering "low-cost, leading-edge medical care and counseling that’s LGBT-sensitive."
The Center also provides services for people who are at-risk for contracting HIV.
The funding from the grant will allow the Center to expand its medical staff to better serve both current patients and hundreds more that are uninsured and in need of care.
Diane Kubrin, the Center’s Director of Mental Health Services, explains,
“What this means for the Center is that we will be able to help some of the hardest-to-reach people in need and that we will be able to do even more for our current patients."
She continues, “We are a ‘medical home’ for uninsured people who are struggling with multiple challenges. If someone tests positive for HIV at the Center, he can get counseling here. If he uses meth—as many of those who test positive do—he can get help getting clean. And now that we’re adding a housing specialist, he can also turn to us if he needs help finding affordable housing. And by offering case management, we’ll be better able to connect patients with the different types of services they need as quickly and seamlessly as possible.”
In addition to funding specialists in housing and case management, as well as a psychiatrist, the grant will support the addition of new medical and counseling staff, including a primary care doctor.
Very exciting news! So many individuals within the LGBT community will benefit from this grant and the amazing work done by the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.
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