Promoting Health and Wellness Throughout the Life Span

What We Do

Oftentimes, home-bound seniors can feel isolated, lonely and in need of a little extra support. Positive Solutions provides outreach, along with mental health prevention and intervention, to home-bound individuals (60+) who are at risk of becoming depressed or are showing signs of minor depression. Trained and compassionate staff members help clients recognize symptoms, identify possible causes of depression and teach proven ways to cope. This is achieved through short-term psychoeducation, the evidence-based PEARLS (Program to Encourage Active and Rewarding Lives for Seniors) model, and other brief interventions. Our goal is to reduce feelings of isolation, and increase an individual’s social support system and overall self-sufficiency.

Positive Solution

Who We Serve

Services are available for individuals ages 60+ from all cultural backgrounds in the San Diego County’s Central, North Central, North Inland and North Coastal Regions. For information on the Positive Solutions referral process, contact Syed Imam at Simam@upacsd.com.

UC San Diego Research Study:

Intervention for Loneliness among Older Adults

Researchers at UC San Diego are conducting a research study to improve loneliness and social isolation in older adults in San Diego. This study involves participating in a program that has been designed to reduce loneliness and social isolation by helping you to engage socially. If you meet criteria for this study and agree to be part of the study, you will meet one-on-one for 6 weeks with a study therapist via Zoom, a HIPAA-compliant videoconferencing program. These six, 60-minute sessions will include training to increase positive emotions and your pursuit of social activities. Before and after treatment, study staff will meet with you to complete questionnaires related to loneliness, physical and mental health.

If you feel lonely/socially isolated and are interested in participating, please call Velia Gitari, EMASS Program at 619-871-0528 for more information.

Success Story

John entered the Positive Solutions program looking for help managing his depression and cultivating daily and life goals for himself. He had been incarcerated for over 40 years and found it very difficult adjusting to life as a free man, but also overcoming barriers as an older adult with limited support. Through close collaboration and encouragement from his UPAC therapist, he was able to develop increased insight and self-awareness, and learned various coping mechanisms to help him manage his depression. After participating in the Positive Solutions program, John was able to obtain his own apartment, register in a job agency, perform volunteer work, and engage in multiple social and recreational activities. He was able to meet all the goals he set for himself and continues to strive to improve after being linked to long-term services.

* Names have been altered to protect client privacy.

Funded by the County of San Diego

county-of-sd-new

Program Manager

Velia Gitari

Velia Gitari, MA

Velia Gitari, MA, has been working with older adults since 2003 starting with chronic mentally ill older adults and later coordinating a peer counseling program where volunteers provided emotional support to chronically mentally ill clients. Her expertise in this area helped her transfer her skills to the UPAC-EMASS Program providing support, training and supervision to the EMASS’ Community Health Workers. Today, she is the Program Manager, enhancing the delivery of its goals–to reach older adults in underserved communities with engagement, outreach and mental health prevention education. She also manages its more important element–The Community Health Workers representatives of Iraqi, Chaldean, African American, Somali, Latino and Filipino Communities.

200 N. Ash Street, Suite 100
Escondido, CA 92027
Tel: (760) 233-1984

175 W. Lexington Avenue, Suite B&C
El Cajon, CA 92020
Tel: (619) 749-5560

9360 Activity Road, Suite B
San Diego, CA 92126
Tel: (619) 238-1783
Fax: (619) 238-1837

920 W. San Marcos, Suite
San Marcos, CA 92078
Tel: (760) 736-8373
Fax: (760) 736-8815

 

For informational purposes only, a link to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments web page is provided here. The federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires that detailed information about payment and other payments of value worth over ten dollars ($10) from manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, and biologics to physicians and teaching hospitals be made available to the public.

It can be found at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.