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HISTORY
Holistic Services Incorporated, doing business as Project Esperanza, is a bilingual and culturally sensitive, holistic program that promotes love, understanding and knowledge among the community impacted by HIV/AIDS. Holistic Services empowers individuals affected by HIV to become capable of making healthy choices and to live with dignity.
Holistic Services, Inc. opened its doors to the community on December 15, 1995. The agency resides at
Maple Plaza II
5415 Maple Avenue
Suite 422
Dallas TX 75235
in the heart of Dallas' "Little Mexico" community.
The project was founded by its Executive Director Laura Trujillo-Koster SWA, who brings 8 years of experience working with the Hispanic/Latino community affected by HIV/AIDS.
The agency's office is located in a community center which serves several minority communities, a large portion of which is Hispanic/Latino. This enables Holistic Services to be very accessible to the population it serves. Prior to this location, the executive director visited clients in their homes.
PURPOSE
Holistic Services, Inc./Project Esperanza is a non- profit organization that was formed out of the need for a culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriated program to serve the Hispanic/Latino community. Holistic Services / Project Esperanza is a bilingual, culturally sensitive, holistic program that promotes love, understanding and knowledge among the community impacted by HIV/AIDS; Holistic Services empowers the individuals affected to become capable of making healthy choices and live with dignity.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Holistic Services is guided by a diverse and talented Board of Directors. The Board provides daily and long-term support through a team of social service and business professionals. Their involvement ranges from financial and legal support to helping develop service enhancements that maximize limited resources.
The Board is comprised of social services and business professionals including three Ph.Ds, a Registered Nurse, a licensed Naturopath, a licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a Master of Public Administration. Through their employment and/or other civic involvement, this diverse group provides Holistic Services with access to our community's leading health service organizations, educational facilities and businesses.
STAFF
The organization has eight paid positions, the Executive Director who is supervised by the board of directors, and a client advocate/case management person. Through a grant from the Levi Strauss Foundation, it has been possible to hire a client advocate/case management person.
VOLUNTEERS
Holistic Services has 21 volunteers including its board of directors. Volunteers have been recruited to meet agency needs and generate community awareness and support for the agency's work. Board members include physicians and social service providers.
THE COMMUNITY
Holistic Services serves primarily Hispanic men, women and children living with the HIV infection throughout the greater Dallas area. Nearly 10% of all reported AIDS cases (10% of adults, 19% of children) in Dallas County are attributed to Hispanic men, women and children. While this figure is relatively small, working with the Hispanic HIV community is especially labor and time intensive.
For Hispanics living with HIV, language and social prejudices present additional barriers to accessing services. To provide effective services for HIV positive Hispanics, case managers and client advocates must invest significant time and energy to help HIV positive Hispanics develop a sense of empowerment regarding their health care.
As a subgroup, the family members, spouses and partners of primary clients will receive services in as much as they are involved in the client's daily and long-term decision making process. For many Latinos and Latinas living with HIV/AIDS, family members are the primary agents of support. As such, it is critical to involve them in the process of securing appropriate services for the HIV positive family member.
Approximately 66% of the agency's Board of Directors and 100% of its staff are Latino, with board members also representing the gay, lesbian and HIV positive communities. Such diversity accurately reflects the primary population served by Holistic Services. Any additions to the board and staff will continue to be made with sensitivity to cultural and gender issues.
Several AIDS service organizations do provide services to HIV positive Hispanics in the greater Dallas area. However, expanding case loads and labor intensive clients have stretched these service providers to capacity. Through effective collaboration with other providers, Holistic Services provides case management and client advocacy services without duplicity. In doing so, clients can receive quality services while agency staff can work with more manageable case loads.
Holistic Services works closely with many local AIDS service and health care organizations through its membership in the Network of AIDS Service organizations and the Dallas HIV Services Consortium. By participating in case management conferences through these affiliations, Holistic Services shares and receives information about client needs and new services.
The agency's close association with the Foundation for Human Understanding (AIDS Resource Center and Nelson Tebedo Clinic), the Bethlehem Foundation and Oak Lawn Community Services provides a broad base of support services for clients receiving case management at Holistic Services. The agency's relationship with Children's Hospital of Dallas and other hospitals helps assure quality medical services for HIV positive men, women and children, while the support allows Holistic Services to access the spectrum of local providers clients need along their continuum of care. To be sure, there exist challenges in working with a large and diverse network of service providers. Agencies develop their own philosophies of client care and their own methods of providing services. Holistic Services believes that the most effective way to serve the Hispanic community is to be present in that community. As such, most of the agency's services are conducted directly at the client's residence. Initial needs assessment and ongoing follow-up is conducted one-on-one at the place where the client is likely to feel most comfortable: his or her home.
SERVICES PROVIDED
The agency provides culturally competent case management and counseling to the Latino community affected by HIV/AIDS. While the agency's services are available to any person living with HIV infection, the program's efforts are focused on Dallas' historically under served Hispanic community.
Holistic Services will connect Hispanics living with HIV disease to appropriate medical, AIDS service and social service organizations. Specifically, the agency will help clients secure medical services, food and housing, transportation, counseling, emergency financial assistance and documentation needed to access services and education. Further, the agency will be an advocate for it's clients and represent their need for culturally appropriate service delivery. The agency will also prevent duplication of services.
The Hispanic HIV positive community in Dallas is primarily a low-income level population. Beyond the medical and social burdens associated with HIV disease, this population is faced with the additional challenges of securing food, running water, electricity and other necessities at a time when such requirements are most critical.
Holistic Services will incrementally increase its client population over the course of the next year, serving approximately 40 clients by year's end. In doing so, maximum opportunity for effective service delivery can be maintained.
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