October 20, 2006

NYC HIV/AIDS COMMUNITY RESISTS STATE-MANDATED RENT HIKE

Pushed to the brink of homelessness, many people living with HIV/AIDS joined the Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA) for a press conference on Tuesday.

New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS are calling for immediate relief from cruel rent hikes for supported housing HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA). Expecting indifference from the Governor's mansion, poor people living with HIV/AIDS and their housing providers are strategizing to keep people in their homes for now and to fight for even better housing protections for all poor people.

Based on federal guidelines, HASA has capped rent payments at 30% of income. Even with that protection, PLWHAs with limited income struggle to get by. As of November 1st, individuals living in HASA supportive housing must spend all but $330 of their monthly income above basic Public Assistance on rent. That leaves about $11 a day, an impossible budget for food and bus fare let alone coats and heat.

OTDA directed HASA to remove the 30% cap, following an audit where the State determined the City has been spending "too much" to keep people in housing.

The change hurts over 2,000 PLWHAs and 200-300 families. Pushed to the brink of homelessness, many joined the Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA) for a press conference on Tuesday, including Aracelis Quinones, a mother living with AIDS.

"Adequate housing equals health. No one can fight HIV/AIDS without having a home," she said. "We must do whatever we can to make sure people living with HIV/AIDS are not punished for receiving housing assistance. The Governor can solve this problem with the stroke of a pen."

Nilsa Santiago, an HIV positive New Yorker caring for her granddaughter is frustrated by her latest hurdle. "I am trying to take care of myself and a small baby on a very tight budget. Our health is being put in jeopardy by bureaucrats that don't care whether we live or die."

State Representative Peter Rivera attended the event in support of the community.

State Representative Peter Rivera attended the event in support of the community. Statewide legislation could stop this latest onslaught and go even further by extending the cap statewide.

Meanwhile, case managers are bracing for the flurry of fair hearing claims that must be filed as soon as a client receives notice of the rent increase. Housing providers may be able to protect their tenants, and HASA still does not see non-payment of rent as a strong reason for evicting clients from supportive housing, according to NYCAHN.

NEXT STEPS FOR STOPPING THE RENT HIKE!

COMMUNITY MEETING- EVERYONE'S INVITED