Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 Source: Bay Area Reporter (CA) Copyright: 2006 The Bay Area Reporter Contact: http://www.ebar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/41 Author: Rob Akers Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction) Note: Relationship of housing to drug abuse by PLWAs SUPES HOLD HEARING ON AIDS HOUSING The San Francisco Board of Supervisors held a special hearing last week to discuss city plans to offset federal cuts to funding that helps provide housing for people living with HIV/AIDS. Officials said they hope the discussion is a beginning to an eventual comprehensive housing plan in San Francisco. Supervisors Tom Ammiano and Bevan Dufty introduced a resolution at the June 12 hearing calling on the Department of Public Health to establish an HIV/AIDS housing working group to work with relevant city agencies, community stakeholders and members of the board to establish the plan. During the hearing supervisors heard testimony from various agency representatives and the public on how the funding cuts and lack of housing impact those struggling to live with the virus. Proposed federal funding cuts are just beginning to affect housing monies appropriated through federal Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS program and the Ryan White CARE Act. Those cuts are expected to have a bigger impact for housing providers over the next three to five years. "We are here to discuss how San Francisco can respond to the crisis that will occur" as these cuts continue, said Ammiano. Dufty said, "San Francisco is facing a challenge in the housing market that will have a deep impact for people with disabilities, especially those living with HIV/AIDS, many of whom may be faced with making a choice of either healthcare or housing." Jimmy Loyce, deputy director at the Department of Public Health, said the federal legislation requires some money the city is now using to find housing to go to core medical needs. "Here in San Francisco we have been interpreting that broadly" to mean housing also, said Loyce. But he added that he did not know how much longer the city could interpret the funding in such a manner in face of the federal cuts. Despite the impact the cuts have already had, Loyce said the city is still a model for success in providing housing for people with HIV/AIDS. The city currently maintains the housing wait list. Established in 1995, there are currently over 2,400 names on the list waiting for help with housing, officials said. Mark Trotz, director of housing and urban health for DPH, said that only about 50 to 75 people each year come off the wait list. "We are working on a solution once the cuts take place," Trotz said. He estimated that about 400 people currently being provided housing may be impacted, adding the "big drop-off" has not hit yet. He said that so far the city has been able to backfill the money cut for housing over the past three years. "I am optimistic that we will come up with an alternative plan and we are working with the other agencies to do so," he said. Trotz estimated that about 10 percent to 12 percent of new AIDS cases in San Francisco are homeless. Brian Basinger, director of the AIDS Housing Alliance, said at the hearing that statistics show that homeless people with AIDS die at five times the rate as those who are able to maintain housing. He said studies show that there is a direct correlation with people who lose their housing and people who lose access to the proper medication. "I hope we can come to some rational process for resource allocation based on the scientific data," Basinger said. "Housing is harm reduction." Basinger added that statistics show that once housing is provided for those in need, other risky behaviors, such as unsafe sex and drug abuse are also cut in half. "We no longer track if AIDS is the number one reason why gay men die in San Francisco, but I certainly suspect it is," he said. The resolution calls for the working group to establish a comprehensive plan to be established by the Department of Public Health and to meet for the first time no later than August 1. The group's findings will then be presented to the Board of Supervisors for further consideration.