www.opendoorhousing.org
November, 2011 #5
The Open Door Newsletter
The Open Door, PO Box 99243, Pittsburgh, PA 15233
Resident Updates
Nate Williams
Recently one of our residents has been
faced with more medical problems than normal
even for him. Although “John” has had numerous
health problems for years including AIDS,
Uncontrolled Diabetes, Hypertension and Kidney
Failure, he was newly diagnosed with cancer in one
of his kidneys and the doctors decided the best
action was to have his kidney removed. John
already receives numerous supports including daily
observed medication therapy from his health care
provider during the day and from The Open Door
staff, Nate and Yvette at night. Numerous times
either Nate or Yvette have knocked on John’s door
and hearing no answer would go into his apartment
and find him unresponsive on the floor. The Open
Door staff has called the paramedics for John too
many times to count and consistently help him with
figuring out what medications to take each night
and how to have a healthy meal to accompany
them.
Yvette Williams
John had to be at the hospital at 5am for this procedure and there is no medical transportation to accompany someone at that
early time of the day. There is also no reliable cab service in Pittsburgh that will go into our neighborhood at any time of the day. This is
when The Open Door staff decided they had to take it upon themselves to ensure that John made it to his surgery. They called him at 4am
to wake him up but due to many issues related to fatigue, John did not hear their call. Staff had suspected this would happen and called
on several of the other residents to wake up at this same time and knock on his door and his windows until he woke up. John woke up in
time for staff to accompany him to his surgery. John did not know any of the questions that the hospital staff were asking him including
whether he had drank a large amount of prescribed liquid the night before. Staff had assisted him with taking this liquid the night before
and also with not taking certain coagulation medications that he could not take before the surgery. Luckily, John made it through the
surgery with no problems and he was released five days later to his home with no further complications.
When John was discharged from the hospital, Nate and Yvette went into full force to ensure that he would be safe at home. They
provided him with a home cooked meal for the night and had meals prepared for the next couple days. Though our program is
transitional, The Open Door staff feels strongly that John should live there permanently because of all the supports that he requires to
continue to live independently. Staff are thrilled that John’s surgery went so smoothly and that he was able to transition back into
independent living with supports from The Open Door.
John is not atypical of the clients we serve at The Open Door. Recently one of our residents suffered a stroke and had to move to
a personal care home after being discharged from the hospital. Another resident just moved in after being newly diagnosed with both
AIDS and cancer as well as suffering from significant cognitive impairments making it difficult for him to live independently without the
supports of The Open Door. On a more positive note, we have had two more residents graduate from our program and move into
subsidized independent housing.
www.opendoorhousing.org
NEW BOARD MEMBERS JOIN THE OPEN DOOR
Friends of The Open Door
The Open Door would like to welcome four new board members;
Jamie Hudak, Amanda Hunsaker, Chuck Keenan and Dr. John Marx.
Jamie is an employee of the Positive Health Clinic, one of two Ryan
White Clinics treating individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Pittsburgh,
PA. She received her masters of social work at California University
of PA and has been working in the HIV community since 2006. She
is a member of NASW and the Phi Alpha social work national honor
society.
Amanda is a doctoral student in the School of Social Work at the
University of Pittsburgh. She has a Masters of Social Work and a
Masters of Public Health. Prior to starting her studies she worked in
aging and health services research. Her current research focus is on
aging and cognitive impairment. She is thrilled to be a part of the
Open Door board, which has been a tremendous learning
experience.
Chuck is the Housing Coordinator for the Allegheny County
Department of Human Services. He is responsible for coordinating
all aspects of Allegheny County’s housing initiatives within DHS,
including the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness, the Mental Health
Plan, the Jail Re-integration Plan, and others. Chuck has over 15
years of experience working in the affordable housing and disability
fields. He has a Masters of Public Administration degree and a
Bachelors degree in English and Political Science.
John is a Professor of Sociology at the Graduate School of Public
Health, Dept of Behavioral & Community Health Sciences at the
University of Pittsburgh. He has done extensive research on the
privatization of public health in local health departments (LHD) and
the impact of privatization on LHD’s safety-net capacities. John
holds a PhD in Sociology, and a BA in Social Psychology, Chinese
History & Literature.
The Perry Hilltop Citizens Council (pictured above) is an
organization of residents that for over fifty years has
worked to enhance the beauty, diversity, culture and
quality of life in Perry Hilltop located in Pittsburgh’s
Northside.
The Perry Hilltop Citizens Council voiced their support of
The Open Door which led us to being approved to move
forward with our second request for tax credits to
purchase the building. Unfortunately, we were not
approved by the URA as they already had too many tax
credit applications pending for this year. But with the
support of PHC we will have an even strong application
next year….Perry Hilltop Council recognizes that individual
support programs such as The Open Door lends itself well
to a healthy community.
AWARDS FOR THE OPEN DOOR
The Open Door staff and board members have recently been recognized by several agencies over the past year.
Founding board members Mary Gallagher and Dana Davis were recently recognized for their work with people living with HIV at
both The Positive Health Clinic and The Open Door when they received the Distinguished Service Award from the Shepherd
Wellness Community. Founding board member, Dr. David Piontkowsky was recently awarded the Alvin Fisher Award from
Gilead for Best Medical Scientist selected amongst his peers. Lastly, our Program Manager, Yvette Williams, has been
nominated for the 2011 Clifton Maxwell Advocacy Award for her long time career as a patient advocate fighting and winning the
rights for people with HIV.
Donations and Needed Services
The Open Door is in need of professional carpenters, electricians, plumbers and general handyman services looking to
volunteer their time. Professional support services such as mental health, drug and alcohol group and individual counseling on
site is also welcomed. Anyone with experience in board development, grant writing and truck delivery service for donated
furniture and supplies would be of great use.