FLORIDA: AIDS Housing Services Built on Foundation of Cooperation

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

FLORIDA: AIDS Housing Services Built on Foundation of Cooperation

Miami Herald (12.17.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003
Andrea Robinson

On Thursday, AIDS activists and program directors will gather to launch a service center and Web site designed to help Miami's poorest AIDS patients find housing. The Housing Assistance Service Center will serve people countywide, referring them to available homes and apartments, intervening in tenant/landlord disputes, and counseling clients who want to improve their credit so they can buy a home. Clients who own their own homes can get advice on how to avoid foreclosure. Information on about 150 residences is already up on the Web site, www.hascmiami.org.

Miami-Dade County has more than 20,900 people with HIV/AIDS, according to state Health Department statistics. Nearly 7,000 receive medical services under the Ryan White Care Act, but the city can only provide housing for roughly 1,600 poor families affected by AIDS. Miami's program, by necessity, is limited to patients with AIDS instead of HIV. More than 600 housing opportunities exist, but officials expect them to be filled by March.

A countywide assessment of about 300 people with AIDS found that they spent more than 60 percent of their limited monthly income on housing. The figure jumped to 80 percent when utilities were included.

The housing program results from activists, including the Miami- Dade HIV/AIDS partnership, teaming up with the city last spring to survey clients about their needs. The program will be housed at the Miami Beach Community Development Corp.

Because of the way funds are distributed, Miami's 2004 Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS allocation will be cut by about $2.5 million, said Barbara Gomez-Rodriguez, executive director of the Miami Office of Community Development. The city will make up some of the difference by using funds left over from previous years.
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