BALTIMORE — Baltimore Safe Haven – a nonprofit that offers resources to the LBGTQ+ community is taking their outreach a step further with a new service.
Every other Friday, from 11 pm to 4 am, Baltimore Safe Haven will offer overnight resources, including housing information, STD testing and more.
The goal of the new service is to reach more people beyond normal business hours, so those who maybe struggling have access to resources.
"We will have case management, harm reduction HIV, STI testing, showers, food, if we have it on board, like the people that we can't catch on at the daytime who come out at nighttime," said
Arielle Davis, Safe Haven Prevention Service Manager. "We're trying to catch them like, 'Hey, we have services, you can come into talk, come in if you just want to get away, if you want to feel safe at Baltimore Safe Haven. You can come in."
A big part of the overnight services are STD screenings. A February 2022 report showed Baltimore ranked No. 2 in the country when it comes to reported cases of STDs.
"Some people in our community, their health standards are not up to par, but we try to get them up to par," Davis said. "Some people who do come back positive, we've had to try to get them into confirmatory and try to get them into treatment."
Which is why the organization goes into the streets and offers mobile treatments.
"The daytime outreach RV, we use to provide confidential HIV testing in a few different locations throughout the community," said Ngaire Philip, Community Development Officer. "We really like to use that as a tool to meet people where they are and be able to bring resources to people who might not be able to come to us to get them. My hope for the nighttime outreach is that we reach a population that we haven't been able to,"
The nonprofit says they’re always looking for volunteers and donations to continue their work within the community.
If you would like to get involved visit https://www.baltimoresafehaven.org/.