Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center

Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center (nlurc) is a faith- based, culturally and linguistically competent, community organization that develops programs to address the needs of the residents of cleveland's westside. Nlurc's mission is to, "challenge the root causes of systemic poverty among latinos/as and other underserved individuals through holistic and culturally competent service and community building. Nlurc and its programming treat the individuals and families it serves with a culturally relevant commitment to hospitality, spirituality, and excellence." Nlurc (formerly proyecto Luz) was founded in 1999 specifically to fight the hiv/aids epidemic in the latina/o community by providing a faith-based, holistic health ministry in cleveland. Nlurc programming is designed to accommodate the needs of individuals at various stages of wellness as well as those at different levels of acculturation to relevant operational contexts. The provision of direct services in a holistic and compassionate manner - and in a culturally competent venue - minimizes the negative outcomes frequently faced by the latina/o population. Nlurc provides services to any individual who is eligible, regardless of race, ethnic background, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation. Nlurc offers advocacy, translation and interpretative services for clients who are limited english proficient (lep). Additionally, nlurc staff provides clients the option to receive services in-home or at the agency. With this considerate model of service delivery, nlurc helps people living with hiv/aids (plwha) increase their access to both primary medical care and supportive services including legal, foodbank, and housing assistance. Nlurc provides services to approximately 531 active unduplicated clients. Nlurc is effective in serving minority populations through its proactive hiv/aids programming, which connects low-income hiv-positive individuals to the continuum of care that exists in cleveland's transitional grant areas (tga). The key features of the nlurc services include an emphasis on culturally and linguistically appropriate service provision and a high level of competence in service delivery to persons in latina/o and other minority communities in cuyahoga and lorain counties. By reducing or eliminating linguistic and cultural barriers, the staff is better able to assist plwha in accessing core medical and supportive services.

Other professional services (legal)- services that the attorneys provide to plwha include but are not limited to: representing clients include landlord /tenant disputes - including eviction cases, completing healthcare directives, estate planning, assisting with social security benefits applications and appeals, and sealing and expunging past criminal records. Attorneys also provide assistance to clients in reinstating driver's licenses, investigating identity theft, assisting with specific financial matters, and resolving simple immigration problems. When clients present legal problems beyond the scope of services provided at nlurc, those clients are provided with financially feasible and culturally competent referrals whenever possible. All activities are provided with the primary goal of removing barriers to care that impact the stability clients need to maintain their treatment regimens and manage their disease. Currently we have an average of 63 clients a month accessing legal services.

Non-medical case management (housing and nutrition) housing case management- nlurc funding enabled 3 housing case managers (hcms) to fulfill the formal requests of medical institutions to provide housing services for their patients. Housing case managers assist clients in navigating a complex housing voucher system, accessing utility assistance programs, and budgeting. Housing case management is designed to secure permanent, affordable housing. Research shows that stable housing is one of the strongest predictors of health outcomes for plwha. Hcms accompany spanish- speaking clients to housing-related appointments to provide translation (25% of clients identify as latinas/os and 15% are limited english proficient (lep). Foodbank- funding enables the nutrition program at nlurc to continue to serve clients who are actively enrolled in direct services with food supplies. Because so many clients face poverty and economic marginalization, many also face the basic need for food. To help clients meet this fundamental need, nlurc provided over 65,408 pounds of food to 323 clients. This equates 54,507 meals annually. Providing access to food has many benefits to improving a client's overall health outcomes, such as: keeping the client engaged with the direct service staff (keeping important appointments), reviewing treatment regimens and adherence to those regimens (having food when taking medications), and providing nlurc staff access to client homes to assess their current living situation.

Medical case management (mcm)- medical case managers and clinical supervisor perform psychosocial assessments, work with the client to develop an individual treatment plan (isp) to reach specific goals, coordinate services to implement the isp, monitor the plan, and adapt it as circumstances dictate. Currently, there are 530 active clients. Nlurc continues to serve those identified as target populations and 55% of clients identify as african american, 23% latina/o, and 41% as men who have sex with men (msm). Mcm's client encounters include home visits, office visits, telephone contact, and culturally appropriate correspondence, and account for the import of a strong therapeutic alliance in improving client outcomes. Medical case management includes the provision of treatment adherence counseling to ensure readiness for - and execution of - complex hiv/aids treatments. It also includes client-specific advocacy and/or review of utilization of services. Nlurc adheres to ryan white case management requirements and qualifications in staffing its medical case management positions.