Manos Amigas: Hundreds of Older Adults with HIV Receive Assistance and Support Services
Since 2008, September 18th has been dedicated to raising public awareness about HIV incidence among people over the age of 55, following a national declaration promoted by organizations working in the field of HIV/AIDS. The San Juan Eligible Metropolitan Area (AME, in Spanish) Ryan White Part A Program—which covers 30 municipalities—has been serving the older adult population through the *Manos Amigas* program since 2022, utilizing funds from the federal government's Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI). In the 2025–2026 fiscal year, the Ryan White Part A Program served 4,411 individuals, 2,546 (57.7%) of whom were over the age of 55.
Over the past four years, Manos Amigas provided 296 older adults with supportive case management, home health care, and medical transportation services—including home health aides and the provision of disposable medical equipment, among others.
The organization Bill’s Kitchen, which provides nutritional health services to people living with HIV/AIDS, administers the program after securing a proposal to manage the MAI funds allocated to the project. Although the initiative focuses on older adults, it is not limited to this demographic; individuals with unmet needs, barriers to a good quality of life, and high vulnerability scores are also eligible to participate. As of February, there have been 361 participants in total, all of whom became eligible for services after being pre-identified by service-providing clinics.
Between 2022 and 2026, approximately 232 participants received case management services—such as clinical or support coordination—while 135 accepted home visits, 132 underwent vulnerability assessments, and 79 received navigation or accompaniment services, according to data from the CAREWare information system, which is used exclusively by service providers funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the Ryan White program.
Meanwhile, 201 participants received in-home assistance: 110 obtained disposable medical supplies, such as diapers; 66 received home health services supporting activities of daily living; 52 received durable medical equipment; 31 received companion services; and one received a nursing visit. Another 196 used the transportation service, which accounted for 1,809 trips during that period.
According to the June 18 presentation outlining the initiative's achievements, improvements were observed in treatment adherence among participants; there was effective coordination of appointments with primary care physicians or specialists; and benefits from the Nutritional Assistance Program (PAN) and the Government Health Plan were renewed, among other outcomes.
The adult population diagnosed with HIV faces a high risk due to comorbidities that may develop as part of the natural aging process, exacerbated by the virus. Initiatives such as *Manos Amigas* enable older adults to address needs aimed at preventing adverse health effects and maintaining adherence to their treatments, thereby leading to a better quality of life.
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