Housing and Urban Development Acting Secretary Alphonso Jackson on Tuesday announced the award of more than $31 million that aims to help local housing programs across the country better serve persons with HIV/AIDS and their families. Earlier this month, HUD announced it is seeking $295 million in funding for AIDS housing programs under President Bush’s proposed fiscal year 2005 budget.
The funding announced Tuesday is part of HUD’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program. Housing assistance and services funded by HOPWA aim to fill a vital part of the comprehensive system of care for those living with HIV/AIDS. A stable home environment is a critical component for low-income persons managing complex drug therapies and potential side effects from their treatments.
Eleven new or continuing programs totaling more than $11.8 million will receive funding. These include five projects that will demonstrate how to assist chronically homeless persons who are living with HIV/AIDS and one new outreach effort to provide housing support for persons living with HIV/AIDS in the southern Colonias border region.
More than $14 million of the funding announced Tuesday will be awarded to 14 existing HOPWA grantees that sought to renew their funding.
HUD will also provide $1.5 million to four organizations in its attempt to help AIDS housing programs across the country to maintain quality housing support for their clients. This technical assistance will help these local projects to administer their programs more effectively and will enhance an organization’s ability to weather financial hardship.
HUD, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will also provide more than $3.5 million in rental assistance to persons with HIV-AIDS and will study the impact of stable housing on the health of persons these programs serve. The cities of Los Angeles, Chicago and Baltimore will participate in this three-year study.
Ninety percent of HOPWA funds are distributed by formula to cities and states based on the number of AIDS cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HUD’s formula grants are undertaken by 117 local and state jurisdictions, which coordinate AIDS housing efforts with other HUD and community resources.
HUD is a federal agency that implements housing policy.
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