Affordable Housing Victory for People Living with HIV/AIDS

On January 12, the New York State Assembly passed a bill (A02565) that would help end homelessness among people living with AIDS. In a nutshell, the bill ensures that clients of the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) would pay no more than 30% of their income towards their rent. In a clear signal of the importance they're attaching to it, this is the very first bill the Assembly has passed for the new year. And more than a week later, the members of NYC AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN) are still celebrating. This is a major victory for all who hold the value of safe and affordable housing for people who have been economically marginalized by chronic illness or infirmity.

It's been a long fight. The bill was first introduced over three years ago. During this time, NYCAHN has been leading a spirited grassroots campaign to get it passed. Recognizing that community organizing can take time to yield victories, but that those victories are more bold and durable when it does, North Star Fund has patiently supported our efforts even when they seemed quixotic. Thanks to a North Star Fund Rapid Response grant, NYCAHN was able to hire a bus to transport 45 members to talk to elected officials about the importance of ensuring stable and affordable housing for people living with HIV/AIDS during a critical point in the campaign.

Affordable housing is a challenge for all New Yorkers, but it's a life or death issue for low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS.  Without a roof over your head, it's difficult to think about taking complicated medicines, following viral loads and CD4 counts, or practicing HIV prevention.  Finding a place to stay for the night, or numbing the pain and anxiety of being homeless, takes precedence.

Although NYC law guarantees a right to housing for homeless people with AIDS, HASA's rental assistance program does a poor job of keeping people stably housing once they are enrolled. About 11,000 low-income people with AIDS face the risk of homelessness because HASA forces them to pay between 50-85% of their limited disability income towards rent. HASA's current policy requires clients to pay all but $344 per month towards their rent, leaving them with about $11 per day.

Living on this budget, HASA clients face difficult choices between paying rent and covering other basic necessities. Many end up in rent arrears and are evicted into the city's dangerous and unhealthy emergency shelter system for people with AIDS. Wanda Hernandez, a NYCAHN board member who pays 71% of her Social Security Disability check towards rent, recently explained the importance of the bill to the Legislative Gazette, "Once [it] passes, I won't have to worry about whether I can afford to go to the doctor or buy groceries in order to pay my rent."

The legislative process has moved painfully slow for NYCAHN members, including some who lost their apartments and became seriously ill while working to move it forward. After countless meetings with elected officials, creative actions and rallies, however, their work has paid off. In July, the state Senate passed the bill with only one Republican voting against it. Then in September, the NYC City Council passed a resolution urging the Assembly and Governor Paterson to support it.  Finally, the Assembly Speaker publicly committed to pass the bill in December. It will go to Governor Paterson for his signature after the Senate passes the bill again later this month.  Although Paterson's privately told NYCAHN members he will sign it, his press spokespeople have refused to respond to media inquiries.

Ending homelessness is fundamental to ending the AIDS epidemic-- as important as medication, condoms or clean needles. Moreover, the AIDS crisis has always been a symptom of broader injustices in our society, driven by racial, economic and gender inequalities that can't be addressed with traditional health tools alone.  Over 80% of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in New York City are among Blacks and Hispanics, and gay men of all races continue to bear a disproportionate burden.  Contrary to conventional wisdom, these disparities aren't driven primarily by differences in individual behavior (i.e. rates of unprotected sex), but rather by social and economic marginalization.

And sadly, the Bloomberg administration is strongly opposed, failing to understand that the bill will be cost-saving. The cost of implementing it will be offset by reduced evictions and shelter placements. They also callously ignore the health benefits. As Daily News columnist Errol Louis noted, "It's nearly always cheaper to maintain a social safety net than it is to provide high-cost emergency services to the very poor, and nowhere is that more true than in the case of people with HIV/AIDS."

Our members couldn't agree more.