Housing Counts: A look at Homelessness among People with HIV in Connecticut Eileen McCarthy Connecticut AIDS Residence Coalition May 2004

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Housing Counts A look at Homelessness among
People with HIV in ConnecticutEileen
McCarthyConnecticut AIDS Residence CoalitionMay
2004
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AIDS is a growing problem in Connecticut.
  17,000 people living with HIV/AIDS  
The number continues to rise. There is not
enough designated AIDS housing.
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New AIDS Cases, AIDS Deaths and People with
AIDS By Year, Connecticut Data through December
31, 2003
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Connecticuts Epidemiology is unique

• CT has the fastest increasing caseload of people
  living with AIDS in New England
• CT has a higher rate of Hispanics and women with
  the disease
• CTs rate of transmission by injection drug use
  is twice the national average

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Percent of State by State Cumulative and Living
Cases
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Connecticut vs. Nationwide
 Higher percentage than national average are
- Hispanic - infected by injection
drug use - female
   
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HIV and Homelessness

• Being HIV triples the likelihood that you will
  become homeless
• Predictors of homelessness include
• Extreme poverty
• Current alcohol or drug abuse
• incarceration

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People with HIV live on extremely low incomes
Nationally 37 - less than 500/month 80 - less
than 1,000/month CT 90 - less than 750/month
(Waterbury) 45 - less than 500 and 77 - less
than 1,000 (RW) 39 less than 500 and 84 -
less than 1,000 (CARC)
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Drug Abuse and Incarceration Among CT Citizens
with HIV

• CTs rate of transmission by IDU is twice
  national average
• 1 in 6 people with HIV in CT have history with
  Department of Corrections
• Of people with history of incarceration, 83 were
  infection by IDU

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How many people living withHIV/AIDS in CT are
homeless?

• 10 of shelter residents have HIV
• 1,400 households with HIV use
  shelter system each year
• 2,000 households with HIV
  experience some kind of
  homelessness at least
  once in a year

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Consumer Surveys RevealHigher rates of
Homelessness

• 17 to 28 of consumers report being homeless in
  the past 12 months
• This is 4,227 people or 25 of the total HIV/AIDS
  population.

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Homeless people with HIV are less likely to be
receiving primary medical care

• 19 of in-care respondents reported being
  homeless
• 56 of out-of-care respondents reported being
  homeless

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Connecticuts Housing Crisis

• There is not one city or town in the entire state
  where a person receiving needs-based disability
  benefits can afford market rate housing.
• CT has the sixth most expensive housing market in
  the country.
• There are 260,000 needy households competing for
  149,000 affordable housing units.

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What it costs to live in CT!

1 Out of Reach, a report of the National Low
Income Housing Coalition, www.nlihc.org
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Subsidized Housing Gap
Total Households below 200 FPL
260,151 Less Subsidized units available
- 148,930 Households in need 111,221
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The Demand for AIDS HousingContinues to Outpace
the Supply

• Current AIDS housing providers
  serve 491 households.
• This is 12 of the total homeless
  households with HIV

• 1,082 persons applied for 224 vacancies (2002)
• Total applications have increased 25 while
• housing units have increased 19 (1999-2002)

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No Connecticut Citizen Living with HIV/AIDS
should be without a Permanent Home
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What is the Need for AIDS Housing?

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MAPS
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Recommendations

• Increase affordable permanent housing stock
  fg(e.g. New London,
  Middletown, Stamford-Norwalk)
• Upgrade existing housing stock (Windham,
  Waterbury)
• Address needs of substance users and formerly
  incarcerated
• Focus on stabilizing at-risk housed population
• Utilize local Continuum of Care for HUD funding
• Get AIDS providers to participate in Continua of
  Care
• Create true continua of housing without gaps

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Recommendations

• Count people with HIV in yearly homeless census
• Use drop-in centers for outreach
• Include a housing specialist position in case
  management services wherever feasible
• Fix DSS Security deposit program
• Provide housing that does not disqualify active
  substance users but also enforces rules for
  community living.

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The End