Two Atlanta nonprofits on Friday secured a combined $5 million in additional federal funding to house people living with HIV and AIDS.
AID Atlanta and Positive Impact Health Centers each claimed $2.5 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants, HUD Assistant Deputy Secretary Jemine Bryon announced during a press conference at City Hall. Both groups provide housing and supportive services to people living with HIV and AIDS, as well as HIV testing and other healthcare services.
The three-year Housing Interventions to End the HIV Epidemic (HINT) grants, Bryon said, will allow both groups to offer additional emergency rental assistance and supportive services to individuals and families impacted by HIV and AIDS — and help the city confront the ongoing HIV epidemic “by elevating housing as an effective structural intervention.”
Atlanta ranks third in the nation for new HIV infections, Positive Impact’s chief operating officer, Joey Helton, said during the news conference last week. “And, regrettably, among the 12,000 patients we serve, more than two thirds experience some form of housing instability,” he said. “To put it bluntly, 70% of our patients report unstable housing conditions. That is a staggering number.”
“Housing is healthcare,” Helton continued. “Without stabilized housing, patients struggle to adhere to their HIV treatment plans, they don’t prioritize their mental health, they don’t eat properly. This often results in them falling out of care, which intensifies the HIV epidemic.”
“At HUD, we believe we cannot end the HIV epidemic without addressing homelessness and housing instability for the populations most impacted by HIV,” added Rita Harcrow, the director of HUD’s HIV/AIDS housing office. The $5 million in HINT grants to AID Atlanta and Positive Impact make up nearly 20% of the $26 million in HINT funds that HUD awarded nationally, underscoring the severity of the HIV epidemic in Atlanta and the Southeast.
The competitive HINT grants from HUD’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program represent a major funding boost for the local HIV/AIDS nonprofits.
To put the additional $2.5 million grant in perspective, AID Atlanta ordinarily receives about $1.9 million a year in HOPWA funding from the city of Atlanta for short-term rental and mortgage assistance, as well as longer-term subsidized housing and case management services for people living with HIV and AIDS, the organization’s executive director, Nicole Roebuck, told Atlanta Civic Circle in an email.
The $2.5 million HINT grant is a one-time award over three years and 75% of the funds must be used to provide housing assistance, Roebuck said.
Last year AID Atlanta served 247 households through its regular HOPWA funding, which included rent subsidies for 60 individuals or families, Roebuck said. “The average subsidy has increased from $650 to around $950 a month, due to the astronomical increases in rent since 2021,” she added.
The $2.5 million in HINT funding will subsidize rent for 72 additional clients — and provide case management services, mental healthcare, workforce development training, and credit repair and homeownership workshops “to increase [clients’] ability to sustain and afford permanent housing after the three years,” Roebuck said.