Established in 1988, DOORWAYS aimed to provide compassionate, non-discriminatory hospice care for individuals with AIDS. Today, DOORWAYS shifted its mission to life rebuilding for the living. By integrating housing with comprehensive resources delivered through personalized care coordination and partnering with BOCA Pharmacy, DOORWAYS aims to provide the support necessary for individuals to adhere consistently to their HIV treatment regimens.
Background
During the 1980s, individuals diagnosed with the alarming new illness known as HIV/AIDS faced rejection from their families, social ostracism, and severe poverty. Many suffered tragic fates, dying in isolation, despair, and homelessness.
Challenge
DOORWAYS participants are largely invisible to society, enduring a profound sense of isolation while trapped in poverty. They struggle to envision a path toward a more self-sufficient life, feeling powerless and reliant on the systems meant to help them. Geographic barriers compounded the issue, as the scattered locations of service providers made access difficult. Clients often had to contend with public transport, childcare needs, and harsh weather conditions to obtain necessary services. Many were too ill or lacked the motivation to navigate these challenges, leading to untreated illnesses and an ongoing rise in new HIV cases.
Solution
In 2022, the Jefferson Avenue Campus merged housing with a wide array of onsite services designed to eliminate barriers related to access and navigation. In 2024, BOCA Pharmacy opened its doors on the campus and serves both DOORWAYS clients and the surrounding community.
This comprehensive approach allows clients to achieve the stability needed for managing their lives and healthcare, fostering opportunities for independence.
Results
At DOORWAYS, residents benefit from various supportive services and housing programs that facilitate their stabilization:
- Cooper House, a thirty-six-bed residential care facility for the most medically fragile participants.
- Own Home Subsidy Program provides rent and utility subsidies to participants living in their own accommodations.
- The Residential Program operates 8 buildings with 103 units of permanent housing for very low-income individuals and families.
- Emergency Housing meets the needs of individuals and families in housing crisis.
- Outstate Subsidies Program operating in 62 rural Missouri counties and 47 rural Illinois counties.
- Allen House offers 50 fully furnished units of flexible housing units.
- Elliott Place offers 39 units of permanent housing units.
- BOCA Pharmacy, inaugurated in 2024, serves both DOORWAYS clients and the surrounding community.
- The Provision Pantry supplies emergency food and essential household items to help stabilize clients; in March 2023, Food Outreach collaborated with DOORWAYS to strengthen food security initiatives.
- An array of empowerment programs offering Career Services and on-site access to Behavioral Health support, with more than 180 empowerment workshops conducted annually.
DOORWAYS currently provides services across 124 counties in the Missouri-Illinois metropolitan area, in addition to 62 outstate counties in Missouri and 47 in Illinois.
