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Housing available in county for homeless with HIV
Tuesday, May 15, 2001 By Deborah Weisberg
Publicly funded housing for homeless people with HIV is being offered in Allegheny County for the first time. Last week, tenants began moving into apartments in a Pittsburgh suburb through a Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force initiative that provides an alternative to the street.
The federal Housing and Urban Redevelopment Authority is allocating the task force more than $1.2 million to provide housing for individuals and families over the next three years and to help meet their needs for food, clothing, transportation, medical support, psychotherapy, substance abuse treatment, education, job training and money management.
The project Pathways will provide transitional housing for 10 homeless people for up to two years, at a cost of up to $16,636 per unit.
The second program, Choice, will provide permanent quarters to six families and 10 individuals, said Niall Sexton, an Allegheny County special assistant for housing.
A study by the Southwestern Pennsylvania AIDS Planning Coalition shows a huge void in housing for indigent people with HIV. Yet housing is their No. 1 need, said Mary Anne Fisher-Cerra, the task force's client services director. Having an address is the key to getting other services, she said.
Shelters are overcrowded and expose people to tuberculosis, she said. They turn away anyone who is drunk or high on drugs.
City leaders have become so concerned about homelessness that a mayor's task force was established six months ago to address the problem. Five percent of homeless people are believed to be HIV positive, Sexton said.
"We're dealing with folks with a variety of disabilities, some with severe mental health or drug and alcohol problems, folks living on the edge," said Sexton. "The goal is to have them move from dependence and crisis to independence and stability."
Clayton, a 43-year-old gay man with AIDS, who asked that his full name not be used, was among the first three tenants last Tuesday to move into a large apartment complex that eventually will house seven others. Clayton has a two-bedroom apartment and probably will acquire a roommate -- an idea he likes, since loneliness is one of the worst effects of his disease.
"It hurts, it really hurts, not having someone to talk to. Sometimes, I can't stand it so I go to the park, or watch a movie or try to be around people."
In an advanced stage of AIDS, Clayton in April moved to Pittsburgh from San Francisco to be close to his mother, only to find that he was "not welcome at her home."
He sought refuge at the YMCA, and called the task force, which saw him as an ideal candidate for the transitional housing program."I love it!" said Clayton of his apartment. "It's safe. It's comfortable. The area is wonderful. And there's a fireplace in the bedroom."
Though he has a college degree in computer science, Clayton has not worked in the eight years since he was diagnosed with AIDS, living on Social Security Disability Income. He hopes to find a part-time job now that he has shelter.
Pathways is a $748,000 project, in which most of the funds cover intensive services and staffing over a concentrated time frame, Sexton said. The $471,057 Project Choice begins June 1, at scattered sites. Because it is designed to be longer-term, most of that money will go to rent. In both programs, the county and the task force receive 2.5 percent of the money for administrative expenses. The task force has applied for another $479,146 from HUD to start a Project Choice II.
"We could use six programs," said Bob Feikema, task force executive director. Pittsburgh has been slower than other large cities in meeting the needs of the homeless with HIV.
Feikema said networking helped find a williing landlord in a warm and stable neighborhood.
"We did not want to create an AIDS housing facility or HIV enclaves," he said.
He would not disclose the location, citing federal privacy laws. "HIV is still a highly stigmatized disease," he added. "At some point, people may choose to reveal their status to other tenants. But we want to avoid negative consequences for them now, because we are close to them and they are already under stress."
Deborah Weisberg is a free-lance writer who lives in the East End.
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