Being diagnosed HIV-positive is certainly a scary life-turn. Sometimes people just can’t accept it or don’t know what to expect from the future-but help is available: The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS), which provides education, counseling and testing for HIV, also offers emotional support for those who have been infected.
Adir Baldelim is an HIV/AIDS case manager based at MAPS’ Allston office, located at 569 Cambridge Street. He’s part of the MAPS outreach team that’s out every week informing and educating community members about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
Adir Baldelim
“I always pay visits to people who have been infected by HIV,” he says. “I can feel how important this support is. They need to know their lives are not ending.”
What Adir offers is more than consolation or company. He helps his clients apply for any social services for which they might be eligible, like affordable housing, rental assistance, Fuel Assistance, food voucher and others. But when he realizes they may need professional help for emotional concerns, he is able to refer them quickly to a therapist. This is possible because Adir also works part-time as a member of a therapist/case management team through the Access Program, a project administered by the Cambridge Health Alliance and funded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Beatriz Carvalho Maimone, LICSW, the Director of Clinical & Support Services based at MAPS’ Cambridge office, is another professional who is always prepared for clients’ most delicate situations.
“The most important part of this job is being able to listen and empathize with them,” she explains. “Even though there is no cure, there’s medication that helps those who are HIV-positive to live a normal life.”
For more information about the Access Program or other HIV/AIDS services at MAPS, please call Adir Baldelim at (617) 787-0557 or Beatriz Maimone at (617) 864-7600.
MAPS is a private, non-profit organization with six offices throughout Greater Boston, Framingham and Lowell. More information is available at www.maps-inc.org.