FRATERNITY HOUSE INC
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : e***************r@f*****************c.o*g
Mission Statement
The mission of Fraternity House, Inc. is to provide warm and caring homes where vulnerable persons disabled by HIV/AIDS can receive comprehensive care and services in order to rebuild their health and return to independent living, or where they can spend their last days in comfort and dignity.
About This Cause
FHI began in the mid-1980s when Ray Beierle opened his heart and home to a few dying young men with nowhere to turn. To quell neighbors’ fears he spread the rumor it was a fraternity house. The name stuck. In 1988 SD County’s first sliding scale AIDS hospice became a non-profit. Home stays were short. Facing mortality in their prime, residents also faced AIDS-related disabilities, wasting, dementia, and ostracism. At Fraternity House, they joined a family where volunteers lovingly tended to needs and sat vigil so they could pass in comfort and dignity. In 1992 FHI became a state-licensed RCF-CI. A second co-ed facility—Michaelle House, Vista –opened in 1997. Today AIDS is not a death sentence; with proper treatment it becomes manageable, undetectable and non-transmittable. We’ve evolved into a quality-of-life program with long-term/rehabilitative care and wraparound services emphasizing wellness and independence, remaining a safe haven for those in need. In 2024, we made the decision to close the location in Elfin Forest, and pursue expanding our Semi-Independent living apartment program. After 32 years on the frontlines of the HIV/AIDS crisis, FHI operates San Diego County’s only licensed Residential Care Facilities for the Chronically-Ill (RCF-CI). We provide sliding scale supportive housing in a family home environment with: 24-hour caregiving, healthcare and meds management, nutritious meals, case management, wraparound support services, and transitional apartments. Our home serves as safe landing for a diverse spectrum of low-income, vulnerable populations to experience comfort, healing, dignity, and above all, daily access to life-saving antiretroviral therapies which render HIV undetectable/nontransmittable, thereby also ensuring broader public health via treatment as prevention. More than 17,000 San Diego County residents are living with HIV/AIDS. The homeless and unstably housed populations are 9 times more likely to be infected than the general public and lack steady access to treatment regimens which safeguard their own and public health. Mental health issues, illness, addictions, poverty, and lack of mobility also present significant barriers to accessing medication. This is FHI’s target demographic and the need for our supportive housing is as present as ever. It is true, when you don’t have other underlying health issues/disabilities, and you are able to maintain housing, food and access to care and treatment, HIV becomes a manageable chronic illness. Our vulnerable, low-income residents need support and assistance to regain health and quality of life. FHI ensures these at-risk populations—the chronically homeless, seniors aging with HIV or in hospice care, those with physical disabilities and/or dual diagnosis behavioral/mental disorders—remain sheltered with care and treatment. Michaelle House (serving 12 individuals) and with the semi-independent living apartment (serving 18 individuals) , our organization is prepared to serve 30 individuals at any given time. We served 35 unduplicated individuals in 2023-2024 and expect to serve between 35-40 in fiscal year 2024-2025 with program graduates. Many residents are in substance abuse recovery and all have co-occurring conditions. We have further began an Alumni Program to support graduates once they leave our program. Our case manager works with them to ensure they remain housing stable for two years after leaving our program. Our residents arrive from the streets, hospitals, nursing facilities, or rehab centers. Miraculous recoveries begin with consistent meals, medication, and rest. Those with a permanent disability or underlying conditions stay long-term. Stable housing improves healthcare outcomes. FHI facilities are located in peaceful rural residential settings. Residents find a home, family, support, and belonging. Wellness activities are as significant as freedom from stigma. A study in the National Institute of Health's Library of Medicine revealed one’s experience of being cared for and comfortable in a calm, familiar, home-like setting positively influences health recovery by creating an environment within the body that facilitates and maximizes our innate repair and healing process, further validating the impact of our program. FHI's primary services and ojectives are: CARE AND TREATMENT: Our main objective is helping residents achieve HIV viral suppression and improved health through daily living support, access to medical care, and safe housing at our licensed care homes, offering 12 beds for rehabilitative and long-term care, 24-hour/7 day-a-week caregiving, and home-cooked meals served annually. WRAPAROUND SUPPORT SERVICES: Beyond care and treatment, FHI strives to promote whole-person wellness, quality of life and independence through comprehensive case management and support. Services begin at referral and intake and include mental/behavioral counseling, goal setting, life skills development, wellness activities, recreational and cultural outings, transportation, and access to resources including sobriety support groups. TRANSITION TO INDEPENDENCE: Those who can self-manage and don’t require daily care may graduate to semi-independent apartment living with sliding scale rent, ongoing case management, transportation, goal setting, and weekly check-ins. Our federal HUD/HOPWA grant and CA State Social Services licensing makes us a last-stop provider for very low-income and vulnerable (disabled/elderly/comorbid) populations. These agencies and San Diego County Health maintain stringent operational guidelines and conduct regular inspections, which we pass with flying colors. Of the 35 residents served annually, 100% will receive shelter, meals, treatment and care upon entry. 100% will set case management goals within week one. 100% of existing/long-term residents will maintain viral suppression rendering HIV undetectable/nontransmittable. 100% of incoming non-suppressed residents will achieve viral loads rendering HIV undetectable/nontransmittable within six months. Anticipated success rate is based on results from two decades of administering progressively effective combination therapies. Without this program, residents would be homeless, medication non-adherent, hospitalized, or as one resident has speculated, “…dead, in and out of the hospital, totally unstable. I needed this housing, and I'm not the only one. The big contribution is the constant care, the daily meds routine.” Indeed, with proper care and treatment, miraculous recoveries become standard measure for success at Fraternity House, Inc.