December Damien Center Update
December 2021
December 15, 2021
Services
Food Pantry Holiday Hours
Clients who utilize the food pantry at the Damien Center should note that access weeks will be shortened during the month of December. For the month of December, the pantry will be closed during the last two weeks. Regular access weeks will resume in January 2022. For clients who have questions about their food pantry access or for a list of additional communities, they should reach out to their care teams. View the holiday Food Pantry hours here.
Damien Holiday Schedule
Damien Center will be closed from December 24th through January 3rd. However, there will be two access days during this time for clients to access the pharmacy and testing.
To view our resources page for clients, click here.
The hours for the pharmacy and testing are as follows:
Pharmacy
Clients who need to access the pharmacy during the break can do so on December 28th and December 30th. To access the pharmacy on that day, clients need to go to the ramp entrance towards the clinic and call the pharmacy at 317-981-1989.
The hours during break are listed below:
12/28 - 8:30a – 5:30p
12/30 - 8:30a– 5:30p
Testing (By Appointment Only)
Anyone who needs to get tested during the break can do so on December 28th or December 30th by clicking here.
The hours listed during break are listed below:
12/28 - 12p - 4p
12/30 - 12p - 4p
In case of emergency during our closure, we ask that clients contact 911. For all non-emergencies, there will be linkage staff on call.
The on-call schedule is below:
- 12/27 - Nikki Nance: 317-224-9946
- 12/28 - Nikki Nance: 317-224-9946
- 12/30 - Jeffery Randolph: 317-709-8719
- 12/31 - Anthony Pastrick: 317-224-5646
Extra Resources During the Holidays
If clients find themselves in need while Damien is closed during the holidays, they can contact 211 for extra resources. When a client calls 211, they will be connected with a navigator to help direct them in the right direction of the resources that they need. 211 is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Learn more here.
Heroes for Recovery: Mental Health Professional of the Year
Damien Center’s very own, Dylan Stanton has won this year’s Mental Health Professional of the Year through Heroes for Recovery. Dylan has been a great member of the Damien Center family since 2015. Damien Center is truly lucky to have Dylan as a part of the mental health team and wish to congratulate him in winning Mental Health Professional of the Year. Thank you, Dylan for all you do and for your hard work at Damien Center!
New Faces
As many have noticed, Damien Center has expanded greatly over the past year. Below are some highlighter people who have joined our team during 2021!
Rai Caraballo (They/Them)
Hep C Navigator
What did you do before you worked at Damien Center?
Prior to Damien Center, I worked in the Bellflower Clinic as an Outreach Coordinator/ Tester/ Sex educator.
What do you do in your current role at Damien Center?
I help folks diagnosed with Hep C break down barriers so they can start and finish their course of treatment. As a part of Harm Reduction, I’ll also be helping with Outreach events and in whatever capacity I’m needed. I hope that I can raise awareness about Hep C and Harm Reduction as well as be a safe space for folks to come and seek Hep C treatment.
What else can you tell us about yourself?
I’m an Indianapolis performer and lover of the arts. I’m finishing my law degree. I have a toothless senior chihuahua named Scooby who is THE goodest boy.
Jackson Cloyd (He/Him)
STI/HIV Tester
What did you do before you worked at Damien Center?
Before, Damien, I was working at Planned Parenthood as a medical assistant, focusing on STI/HIV testing and treatment, birth control, wellness visits, and abortion care services.
What do you do in your current role at Damien Center?
Here at Damien, my job involves working directly with clients one-on-one to perform testing and give education about safer sex practices, PrEP, and HIV care, as well as referring out when necessary to make sure clients can take full advantage of our resources.
What else can you tell us about yourself?
I went to IUPUI for medical humanities and health education, focusing most of my studies in biomedical ethics and sexual health. I worked with the Office of Health and Wellness Promotion to design sexual health programming that we could deliver across campus, and eventually found my way into Planned Parenthood. I love to travel, binge Ink Master (for the third time, now), and spend time with loved ones and my cat, Oscar. I hope to travel more, as much as these unpredictable times will let me, and go back to school soon for either public health or social work. I’m so happy to be a part of Team Damien and I look forward to growing here.
Jude Brown (They/Them)
Harm Reduction Specialist
What did you do before you worked at Damien Center?
I was a member of the 2020-2021 AmeriCorps Ending the Epidemic Team, which was sponsored by The Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis. This was a year-long full-time volunteer position where I mainly did overdose education and naloxone distribution at Overdose Lifeline. Before that, I was a long-time bartender and line cook at many different restaurants in Indy and Bloomington.
What do you do in your current role at Damien Center?
So far, I’ve done lots of outreach in the community. This has been mostly talking to people about Damien and harm reduction in general and making sure people have what they need to use and have sex safely. I’m excited to do more of that in more settings, and I’m excited to build a base of community members who feel welcome to come to the harm reduction room and get what they need and ask questions.
What else can you tell us about yourself?
I’m from Indy, and I live with my partner on the East side of Indy in Windsor Park. We have two kitties (Tina and Pickles). I like to skateboard and play the guitar, but my favorite hobby is probably Magic: The Gathering, admittedly.
These are just a few of the employees that have started over the year. Stay tuned to learn more about new and current staff in future client newsletters. In the meantime, make sure you say hi to the above staff!
Ryan White Program Update
There have been some exciting changes to the Ryan White programs! Now, all clients who have Ryan White Coverage will recertify their coverage during the month they were born, and then six months later. For example, a client whose birthday is 12/01/1915 will recertify during the month of December, and then again in June. Clients will recertify every year for both Ryan White Part A and Ryan White Part B during these months, according to their birthdays. Clients will no longer receive a letter from IDOH reminding them to recertify. Clients still may call their CC to recertify. Please contact your Care Coordinator with any questions.
Open Enrollment Extension
Open Enrollment season is fast approaching! This year's Open Enrollment began Oct 15th for Medicare Part D plans and Nov 1st through January 10, 2022 for Marketplace coverage. If you have Medicaid and would like to change your carrier (I.e. Anthem to MHS), you may also do this.
During this time your care coordination or a member of our insurance team may be reaching out to you for updated documentation, it is important you get these documents to them quickly for our team to have enough time to process the application.
If you have no current issues with your insurance coverage, you will be auto-enrolled in your current plan and should not have to do anything during this time.
Please contact your care coordinator or a member of our insurance team if you would like to learn more about your coverage or see if you qualify for more comprehensive insurance!
+PA Youth
The Client Enrichment Department will be adding a new youth leadership program this fall for HIV positive and high-risk HIV negative youth ages 16-24. The heart of the Positive Action for Youth program will engage HIV-positive and high-risk HIV-negative individuals on an annual basis. Through this program, participants gain leadership skills, connect with others in the community, and lead Community Engagement and Cultural projects designed to improve confidence and reduce stigma within the community surrounding youth and HIV.
Leadership Development participants will go on to become Peer Mentors, Youth Community Advisory Group members, and mentors to incoming Leadership Development participants. All youth will be linked to appropriate medical, supportive, and preventive services, improving their individual health outcomes. Youth participants will also play a strong role in creating a Youth-Friendly HIV Medical Clinic at Damien Cares, impacting community health outcomes for youth for years to come.
Applications for +PA have been extended through January. For any questions, please reach out to Evren Elliott ([email protected]).
