Housing
Housing and Supportive Housing Programs
Program Description
The Housing Programs Unit provides administrative oversight to organizations throughout New York State that provide a continuum of housing and supportive housing services to homeless or inappropriately housed individuals with HIV/AIDS and their families. The overall goal of the Housing Initiative is to ensure a flexible continuum of care that empowers individuals and families to live as independently as possible and to avoid homelessness.
Findings from a 2004 comprehensive statewide housing needs assessment of persons with HIV/AIDS helped guide the direction of State and federal housing dollars through a competitive solicitation. This solicitation resulted in awards to 24 housing providers funded to meet the continuum of housing and supportive housing needs of this population.
- Enhanced Supportive Housing Services address the housing needs of special and underserved populations including those who are at risk of losing housing or who are significantly challenged to remain in housing. Funding is intended to assist clients to obtain and maintain stable housing, support the greatest possible level of consumer independence and improve access to and participation in a full continuum of care services. Funded services include independent living skills development; mental health support services; non-intensive case management; nutrition services/meals; substance abuse support services; supported housing coordination; transportation services; and vocational education. Eighteen (18) housing providers are funded to deliver these services statewide.
- Housing Placement Assistance and Referral Services are provided by agencies that serve as centralized points of contact in designated regions outside New York City. Funds support the staffing of a full or part time HIV/AIDS housing specialist to provide these services within multiple counties or a designated region. Housing placement assistance and referral services are intended to improve coordination and timeliness of housing placement services; locate and place clients in appropriate, permanent housing; and promote clients’ housing retention and stability. Funding also supports essential items such as household start-up kits. Seven (7) housing providers serving Long Island and Upstate New York are funded to deliver these services.
- Financial Assistance provides one-time only emergency assistance (broker’s fee, moving expense, security deposit, rent, utility, minor renovation) and short-term rental and utility assistance (cumulative lifetime limit of 24 months) to persons with HIV/AIDS, outside New York City. Financial assistance helps consumers obtain and maintain safe, appropriate and affordable housing and to prevent eviction and utility shut off. This type of assistance promotes housing retention and stability, augments housing placement assistance and referral services by enabling consumers and their families to relocate to more appropriate housing if necessary, and promotes access to medical care. Funds are used as dollars of last resort. Nine (9) housing providers are funded to deliver financial assistance in Long Island and Upstate New York.
- Operational Support in AIDS Housing (OSAH) funding is transferred to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to provide operational support to housing providers who received Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP) funding to establish a continuum of residential options for previously homeless persons with HIV/AIDS and their families. Funds are also used to provide residents with necessary support services for which funding is not otherwise available.
Contact:
Joseph M. Losowski
Director, Chronic Care Section
Bureau of HIV Program Review and Systems Development
Division of Medicaid Policy and Programs
(518) 474-8162
jml03@health.state.ny.us
New York/New York III Supportive Housing Agreement
Program Description
The New York/New York III Supportive Housing program is a cooperative agreement signed November 3, 2005 by five City and five State agencies to provide 9000 new units of supportive housing in New York City over the next ten years to the chronically homeless population, including those with HIV/AIDS. The New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute has been given the responsibility for the development of a total of 500 supportive housing units; 300 congregate and 200 scatter-site. The overall goal of this initiative is to reduce homelessness, and provide safe and affordable housing and supportive services to clients who meet the eligibility criteria.
Those eligible for these supportive housing units include chronically homeless single adults who are persons living with HIV/AIDS, who are clients of New York City’s HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) or who are clients with symptomatic HIV who are receiving cash assistance from the city, and who suffer from a co-occurring serious and persistent mental illness, a substance abuse disorder, or a MICA disorder. Chronic homelessness is defined as a single adult who has spent at least two of the last four years in a homeless shelter or living on the street, or a single adult who is disabled and has spent at least one of the last two years in a shelter (such as HASA emergency housing) or living on the street.
The AIDS Institute participates on the NY/NYIII Oversight Committee and the Evaluation Standing Committee comprised of City and State partner agencies. The evaluation of NY/NYIII will assess the effectiveness of the supportive housing program in decreasing the use and cost of publicly funded health-care and social services, reducing chronic homelessness and incarceration-related events, improving the health of participants, and increasing appropriate substance use and mental health services utilization.
Contact:
Joseph M. Losowski
Director, Chronic Care Section
Bureau of HIV Program Review and Systems Development
Division of Medicaid Policy and Programs
(518) 474-8162
jml03@health.state.ny.us
