Chicago Phoenix
December 27, 2012
Grants provided by HUD’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)
From Chicago Phoenix:
The Chicago Department of Public Health announced Thursday it has granted $6 million to local community-based organizations to improve housing services and assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families in 2013.
The CDPH grants, starting Jan. 1, were awarded to 22 local organizations, including the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Edge Alliance, Chicago House Social Services Agency and Heartland Alliance Health – Vital Bridges.
The money comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of its Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program, which awards funds to non-profit organizations every year to assist with healthy-living initiatives and prevent homelessness among people affected by AIDS.
“There are approximately 22,172 people in Chicago living with HIV,” said Chicago Public Health Commissioner Bechara Choucair, M.D in a media release. “The HOPWA program helps us better serve these Chicagoans and offers agencies, with an ear to the community, the opportunity to more effectively and efficiently respond to their specific needs.”
CDPH places the non-profit agencies into three categories based on the services they offer, such as community residences operating support, housing information services and tenant based rental assistance.
Funding for the CDPH’s HOPWA program increased by $106,000, according to the organization.
