Unity House among awardees who can offer help

Living with HIV/AIDS can present many challenges. Adults living with the condition are at greater risk for poverty, eviction and domestic violence. Yet programs that address these risks can encounter difficulty because programs designed to help are often siloed. Having programs each in their own silo – sometimes for good reasons such as safeguarding a victim’s identity or person’s medical information – can have the unintended consequence of forming a barrier to accessing services and inhibiting the efficient delivery of services.

In an effort to remove barriers and improve delivery of service, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded funds in support of local programs across the country working to protect and house people living with HIV/AIDS who are also victims of domestic violence. Enhanced coordination between programs that address housing for adults living with HIV/AIDS and domestic violence services will fill a need for many. Unity House, having long offered services to victims of domestic violence and support for adults living with HIV/AIDS, is proud to be a recipient of federal funding that will provide stable housing to victims of domestic violence who are living with HIV/AIDS.

From  HUD Secretary Julián Castro, “Every person, especially those fighting the effects of HIV/AIDS or looking to escape an abusive situation, deserves to live in a safe and stable environment. Through this collaborative effort with the Justice Department, we’re able to help those living at the intersection of HIV/AIDS and domestic violence to secure the housing and health services they need to build a better future.”

Funding was made possible through the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and HUD’s Office of HIV-AIDS Housing which collaborated to provide grants under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and HUD’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program.

The program at Unity House is a demonstration project designed to identify and reduce system barriers. Unity House is partnering with CARES to develop, document and disseminate best practices.