Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson on Friday announced nearly $18.8 million in funding that aims to help low-income individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS get permanent housing and access to care.
The grants are part of HUD’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program. Housing assistance and related services funded by HOPWA are a vital part of the comprehensive system of care for those living with HIV/AIDS who need help managing complex drug therapies and potential side effects from their treatments.
“HOPWA provides housing support to some of the most vulnerable Americans,” said Jackson. “We know that a stable home environment helps persons living with HIV/AIDS to better care for themselves and when that happens, people live longer.”
In connection with this new HUD funding, these projects are using $27 million in other public and private resources to carry out these projects and help even more persons living with HIV/AIDS to find a stable home. Over the next three years, the HOPWA grants announced today will renew funding for 14 outstanding projects that provide permanent supportive housing activities. The funding will also support five new special projects that will design new approaches to meet the housing and service needs of their clients to help them transition to more permanent and self-sufficiency arrangements.
Agencies in the following states are receiving grants under HUD’s program: Alaska, Alabama, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont and Washington.
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. HUD’s formula grants are managed by 121 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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