HUD Awards $23.6 Million for HIV Housing
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today awarded $23.6 million to programs in 17 states to provide housing and related support services to more than 2,700 low-income people with HIV/AIDS and their families.
The grants are part of HUD’s Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program, which is distributing about $232 million total in fiscal year 2000.
Ninety percent of the funds are distributed to cities and states by a formula based on the number of AIDS cases reported. HUD uses statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in allocating these funds.
The remaining 10 percent of HOPWA grants — the funds announced today — are awarded as competitive grants to test new ways of providing housing, health care and other support services to people with HIV/AIDS. Some 22 such grants were announced today for non-profit groups and state and local government agencies in Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont and Wyoming.
“Finding a safe and affordable home is the single greatest barrier to proper health care for people with HIV or AIDS,” Cuomo said. “At a time when our nation’s economy is soaring, we cannot turn our backs on our neighbors who live with these ailments. These grants are the federal government’s way of partnering with organizations whose selfless work provides hope on a daily basis to the people who need it most.”
In addition to providing housing assistance, the HOPWA program also helps many communities establish strategic AIDS housing plans, better coordinate local and private efforts, fill gaps in local systems of care, and create new housing resources. Full story here:
Posted: July 23rd, 2009 under Uncategorized.
Tags: CUomo, HIV Housing, HOPWA, HUD