New Leaf Closing Its Doors

New Leaf will close by mid-October, say officials of the nonprofit that has long offered mental health, substance abuse, and senior services targeting LGBT. New Leaf's board voted unanimously Aug. 15 to dissolve the agency, and it is working with the city and other groups to transition key services, including its HIV mental health program, to other providers.

"Some of the board members were former clients at New Leaf. This hits people personally," said Thom Lynch, New Leaf's interim executive director.

The agency faced a dearth of financial resources along with high and rising operational costs due to the poor economy, officials said. City budget cuts were also a factor, said Lynch.

A city Department of Public Health transition team will be at New Leaf through September, working with counselors and clients on referrals "to help the clients have choices," said Barbara Garcia, DPH's deputy director of health.

The HIV mental health program and part of other mental health services will transition to the University of California-San Francisco's AIDS Health Project. Substance abuse programs will move to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation's Speed Project. Lyon-Martin Health Services will take up New Leaf's transgender and women's health programming. Youth programs will be under DPH's Children's Health and Youth Programming.

The board of the GLBT Psychotherapist Association of the San Francisco Bay Area is considering ways it can help. The organization has 250 members whom clients can access through the association's website.

The host for New Leaf's Outreach to Elders program has yet to be determined, said Anne Hinton, director of the city Department of Aging and Adult Services. However, New Leaf's executive team is taking a "very thoughtful" and "very dedicated" approach, and they are "really focused on the people they serve," she said.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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