Nonprofit Battling AIDS Opens Mental Health Clinic In Chelsea

CHELSEA, NY — The Gay Men's Health Crisis officially opened a brand new mental health clinic this week, an initiative launched to treat mental illness in patients affected by HIV and AIDS.

GMHC, the historic nonprofit that's been battling HIV and AIDS since 1982, launched the new clinic as part of its ongoing work to reduce new HIV transmissions and support HIV-positive patients. Although the number of HIV-positive New Yorkers has dropped dramatically since the height of the AIDS epidemic, thousands of New Yorkers are diagnosed with the disease each year, many of whom are later also diagnosed with a mental illness. Leaders and supporters of the nonprofit gathered at its headquarters on Tuesday evening for a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the official opening of the new clinic.

"There are still far too many New Yorkers with HIV and AIDS who do not have access to critical mental health treatment, and that is often the unseen side of this illness, the silent struggle that too many go through," public advocate Tish James said at Tuesday's ceremony.

The new clinic, named for its late patron Carl Jacobs, is located inside GMHC's headquarters at 446 W. 33rd St. The health center, which has been seeing patients for several months, is licensed by the state to provide outpatient mental health treatment. Although the clinic is part of GMHC's broader work to end the AIDS epidemic, leaders of the nonprofit noted that the clinic's services would be available to everyone, regardless of HIV status. In particular, GMHC leaders stressed that services would be provided to individuals at high-risk of contracting the HIV but who are presently HIV negative. Treatment will be provided regardless of income, and those who are uninsured can pay on a sliding-scale.

The new clinic is another step in the historic work of the GMHC, which touts itself as the world's first and leading organization working toward HIV/AIDS prevention and advocacy. In 1995, about 7,000 people in New York City died from the disease. Today, that number has decreased dramatically; 483 people died from the disease in 2015, according to the most recent city data available. This positive public health trend that politicians and advocates credit largely to the work of GMHC and similar organizations around the country.

GMHC's CEO Kelsey Louie explained that staffing a dedicated mental health clinic was a priority for the nonprofit because of how closely mental illness and chronic illnesses like HIV/AIDS were connected.

"We know that untreated mental health issues is part of what drives the HIV and AIDs epidemic," Louie told Patch. "What we mean by that is that when people are suffering from mental illness and it goes untreated, they are less likely to stay on their medications, and it undermines their ability to follow prevention strategies."

Louie explained that data shows that people living with HIV are about twice as likely to later be diagnosed with a mental illness.

"I think stigma about two issues isn’t additive, it’s multiplicative," he said. "So if you have stigma around HIV and stigma around mental health it can be disastrous and maybe even fatal."

GMHC leaders also pointed to the new clinic as part of the broader goal to essentially eliminate HIV in New York state by 2020. In 2015, there were 2,493 new diagnoses in New York City alone, according to city data. In 2013, city data indicated there was amost 118,000 people living throughout the city with HIV and AIDS.

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Lead photo courtesy of Adam Fredericks.