Goal
To help individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS to receive the comprehensive and compassionate services necessary to live healthier lives and break the cycle of homelessness.
Why Peter’s Retreat is Important
Peter’s Retreat started in 1988 as CT’s first supportive housing program specifically for folks living with HIV//AIDS. The agency opened the doors of Peter’s Retreat’s shared residence in 1994. We continue to offer both the scattered-site housing program and the shared residence program as a way to reach out to this vulnerable population.
In Greater Hartford, there are only two congregate (shared residence) housing programs for people living with HIV / AIDS, of which Peter’s Retreat is the largest. The Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition (CARC) has reported that 81 percent of those with AIDS who requested housing in a recent year were turned away. The need for programs with 24 hours a day / 7 days a week on-site support is greater than what these two housing programs can meet.
Without the efforts of Peter’s Retreat, three dozen men, women and children living with HIV / AIDS would be homeless. Because of the support we provide at Peter’s Retreat, residents and scattered site program tenants are more fully and effectively engaged in their health care, living longer, healthier lives and reducing the risk of transmission of the virus. In addition, they use fewer emergency health and social services than they otherwise would, freeing up those valuable resources for others in need. In addition to simply providing housing and comprehensive support and case management services, Peter’s Retreat congregate program offers a warm and supportive atmosphere and sense of community to a group of people who suffer from the isolating effects of homelessness and living with HIV.
How It Works
Residents and tenants of Peter’s Retreat programs find the warmth, support and care we all expect from our homes and families, together with safe, affordable housing, and professional assistance and services necessitated by their condition. These services include medical treatment with 24-hour a day support, health education, and medication management. Also provided are nutritional meals, intensive case management, family support, individual counseling, support groups, transportation, and recreational activities.
The support that people with AIDS receive at Peter’s Retreat also allows residents to continue to remain in their home when medications fail and/or side effects of medications or disease make hospice care necessary. At the end of life, residents at Peter’s Retreat receive a hand in writing their final chapters, find support and community around them and, whenever possible, avoid hospitalization or nursing home care. Peter’s Retreat staff also support family members through these difficult times.
All individuals who come to Peter’s Retreat live in poverty, are HIV positive or living with AIDS, have histories of homelessness, and nearly always have other complicating health problems and disabilities. No one is denied housing because of an inability to pay.
Role of Volunteers
A network of loyal volunteers from congregations, corporations, teen centers and other community groups add to the richness of residential life at Peter’s Retreat’s congregate program. Our volunteer-teams cook, serve and share meals with residents on a regular basis, play games with residents and engage them in conversation. Volunteer teams also perform periodic site clean-ups and spruce-ups in collaboration with staff and residents.
HIV / AIDS can be a very isolating condition. Like all of us, our residents thrive on keeping active and engaging in the Hartford community. They rely on volunteers to lead group and often financially support activities, trips, social programs and other events on an ongoing or one-time-only basis.
Impact
In a year’s time, Peter’s Retreat cares for approximately 50 individuals and family members with an HIV/AIDS diagnosis who would otherwise be homeless, without consistent care, and without a supportive community.
For the past decade, Peter’s Retreat has received a 99-100% rating from the Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition (CARC) Standards of Care review. This is a detailed and thorough review addressing issues related to services, health and safety and general management of the program.
Peter’s Retreat is one of the founding members of CARC and has received a service award from the Connecticut Nonprofit Association. It was featured as a model program at a HUD annual Best Practices Conference in Washington, D.C. In 2006, the program also received the Dr. Frederick G. Adams award from the United Way for “excellence in improving community conditions”.
