Do you know who your legislators are?

The National AIDS Housing Coalition supports a variety of policy initiatives and legislative proposals benefiting people with HIV/AIDS and/or populations vulnerable to housing crises. We encourage our members and friends to learn about and pledge support for the following legislation and programs, including the vital Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program. Below you will find a description of these key programs and proposals as well as links to further information and advocacy materials.

Jump to:

- HOPWA - The National Housing Trust Fund -

- The Second Chance Act - Ryan White CARE Act - Section 8 Housing Vouchers -

The Services to End Long-term Homelessness Act -

View the Summary of NAHC Legislative Priorities

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Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS

For FY 2008, the HOPWA program will be funded at the highest level in the program's history. The President recently signed the FY08 appropriations bill allocating $300.1 million to HOPWA. Flat funded in the FY2007 budget at $286 million, this $14.1 million increase proves that AIDS housing is steadily becoming a fiscal priority with both Congress and the President despite the reality that only a fraction of those living with debilitating and impoverishing HIV/AIDS and eligible for housing assistance receive it (visit the "HOPWA Funding History" document to see funding and utilization 92-08). NAHC anticipates the President's budget proposal for FY09, as we recommend $470 million for FY09.

HOPWA housing assistance helps prevent homelessness and creates access to medical care and support services for individuals and families affected by HIV and AIDS. Experts estimate that roughly half of people living with HIV/AIDS will need some form of housing assistance during the course of their illness and national research has shown that housing is the greatest unmet service need for people living with the disease.
In 2008, HOPWA will fund approximately 127 formula jurisdictions. The program will provide assistance for an estimated 70,500 households affected by HIV/AIDS with assistance in the form of short-term and long-term rent, mortgage and utility payments, facility-based supportive housing and supportive services.
Housing is healthcare. Stable, affordable housing offers the best opportunity for persons living with HIV/AIDS to access drug therapies and treatments and supportive services that will enhance the quality of life for themselves and their families. When people are housed, they can access and adhere to drug treatments and therapies and require fewer hospitalizations and less emergency room care.
NAHC recommends an additional $170 million in HOPWA 2009 funding for a total of $470 million. This increase will reduce waiting lists for HOPWA housing; assist communities in developing new housing for poor individuals with HIV/AIDS and their families; provide rental assistance; establish strategic housing plans; help the thousands of low-income people receiving assistance through the Ryan White CARE Act get the housing assistance vital to the success of their medical treatments; and make a minimal level of supportive services available to keep people in their housing and fill gaps in comprehensive care.

Although the President has approved an increase in HOPWA funding for FY08, he also proposes cutting many other vital HUD programs--reducing the overall HUD budget by $1 billion (NOT including inflation losses). Programs cut include a 20% reduction to the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), a 22% cut to the Section 202 Program (Housing for the Elderly), and a 47% cut to the Section 811 Program (Housing for Persons with Disabilities).

Please encourage your representatives to support fully funding the HOPWA Program. For more information about HOPWA, contact us at nahc@nationalaidshousing.org.

Return to top last updated: 1/31/08

Learn more about HOPWA
Information & Advocacy Materials

2009 HOPWA Need Analysis
Read NAHC's HOPWA Need Paper which details the funding shortfalls and needs of this critical program.

HOPWA Funding History

Allocations and Utilization, 1992 - 2008 est.

FY09 House HOPWA Letter

FY09 Senate HOPWA Letter

FY08 Senate HOPWA Letter
FY08 House HOPWA Letter

Competitive Grantees Announced
Read HUD's August 19, 2005 press release and view the list of grantees.

HOPWA Homepage
At the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development

Research Fact Sheet

NAHC 2-page summary of research demonstrates the connection between housing and HIV/AIDS.

What is HOPWA?

HOPWA 101: Read NAHC's fact sheet.

The Importance of HOPWA

NAHC's one-pager illustrates why the HOPWA program is so important for those living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.

The National Housing Trust Fund

H.R. 2895 and S. 2523 (110th Congress)

NAHC endorses the creation of a National Housing Trust Fund which would:

Establish a dedicated source of funding to produce, rehabilitate or preserve as primarily rental housing affordable to extremely low income families. The goal of the fund would be the production and rehabilitate 1.5 million units over the next 10 years. Trust fund supported projects must remain affordable for 50 years and 75% percent of funds must serve extremely low-income people.

There are currently 5,600 endorsers of the Trust Fund Campaign.

The National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007 (H.R. 2895), was introduced on June 28, 2007 by Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman of the Financial Services Committee. He was joined by 15 other original co-sponsors, for a total of 8 Democrats and 8 Republicans, including: Maxine Waters (D-CA), Jim Ramstad (R-MN), Christopher Shays (R-CT), Barbara Lee (D-CA). William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Charles Dent (R-PA), Phil English (R-PA), Al Green (D-TX), Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), John McHugh (R-NY), Gary Miller (R-CA), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Rick Renzi (R-AZ), Christopher Smith (R-NJ) and Nydia Velázquez (D- NY).

On October 10, 2007 the bill (H.R. 2895) was passed in the House by a vote of 264-148. Passage of the bill was made possible by two key votes: the first opposing the Neugebauer amendment which would have eliminated program funding sources and decreased the goal of affordable housing units to just 750,000, and the second victory opposing a motion to recommit the bill back to the House subcommittee for further consideration.

In December 2007, the Senate version of the NHTF bill (S. 2523) was introduced by long time supporter Senator John Kerry (D-MA), and received tripartisan support with cosponsorships from his colleagues Senators Olympia Snow (R-ME), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Pete Domenici (R-NM), and Charles Schumer (D-NY), a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Now that the bill has been introduced with such strong tripartisan support, it is time to show the sheer number of members of Congress who support this important legislation. If your Senator has not signed up as a co-sponsor, please take some time this week and next to call and request that he or she become a co-sponsor of S. 2523.

Please encourage your Senator to support the establishment of a National Housing Trust Fund. For more information about the NHTF please contact the National Low Income Housing Coalition at (202) 662-1530 or at info@nlihc.org.

Return to top last updated: 1/3/08

Learn more about the NHTF:
Information & Advocacy Materials

NHTF Website
Visit the National Housing Trust Fund Campaign (NHTFC) website.

Policy Proposal
View the current proposal for a National Housing Trust Fund

Endorse
The NHTF Campaign!

District Profiles
This resource from NLIHC allows you to print affordability information for your district, including the deficit of units affordable to low income people in your area

The Second Chance Act

Under the strong leadership of sponsor Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), by a vote of 347-62, the House of Representatives passed the Second Chance Act of 2007 (HR 1593) on November 13, 2007. On March 11, 2008 the Second Chance Act which provides comprehensive services, including transitional housing, for people leaving prisons and jails passed the Senate unanimously. The Senate passed a bill identical to the version passed by the House and immediately sent it to the President for approval. He is expected to sign the bill into law.

NAHC is an organizational endorser of H.R. 1593 and S. 1060 (110th Congress), the Second Chance Act of 2007. This measure authorizes a range of comprehensive services to assist the thousands of individuals leaving prisons and jails nationwide each year – including those coping with the effects of HIV/AIDS as they reintegrate into their communities. It is estimated that the incidence of confirmed AIDS has grown to be five times higher in prison than in the general population and incidences of HIV are estimated to be between 10 and 14 percent higher.

The housing-specific provisions, though modest, are an important beginning. They include authorization of a demonstration to assist those returning in securing permanent housing and expanding the use of reentry courts to coordinate delivery of community services to offenders including housing assistance. A federal study of the barriers to admission to the federal housing programs as well as the impact of evictions would be required one year from enactment.

Please encourage your Senator to support Second Chance Act legislation. For more information about the Second Chance Act, contact Nancy Bernstine at nahc@nationalaidshousing.org.

Return to top last updated: 1/3/08

Learn more about the Second Chance Act
Information & Advocacy Materials

House Bill Summary
Senate Bill Summary
Read the Second Chance Act (H.R. 1593/S. 1060) bill summary ands status from the 110th Congress on Thomas.

OSI on Second Chance
Visit the Policy Center of the Open Society Institute to read more about the Second
Chance Act.

Homelessness and Reentry
Information from the National Alliance to End Homelessness

Ryan White CARE Act

The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act is Federal legislation that addresses the unmet health needs of persons living with HIV disease (PLWH) by funding primary health care and support services. The CARE Act was named after Ryan White, an Indiana teenager whose courageous struggle with HIV/AIDS and against AIDS-related discrimination helped educate the nation. Some areas that receive funding through the CARE Act use Ryan White dollars to assist clients with housing and NAHC strongly supports the continued ability of CARE Act grantees to use CARE resources to provide housing referrals and transitional and emergency housing assistance. The CARE Act was reauthorized at the end of 2006.

Several widely shared policy principles inform NAHC advocacy around the federal AIDS housing programs, including those CARE Act-eligible activities. These principles include:

Input from people living with HIV regarding their self-determined needs is critical to the reauthorization process;
Community planning, coordination with health care systems and local decision-making around meeting housing need, play a central role in the success of CARE Act programs; and
Support for a range of comprehensive services including medical care, pharmaceutical treatment and related services like housing referral and emergency and transitional housing assistance.

The recently reauthorized program contains a variety of changes to the Act, including formula revision and a requirement that 75% of CARE Act funds be reserved for “core medical services.” Emergency housing assistance remains a fundable service under the CARE Act, but funding available for housing will be restricted to the remaining 25% (after the core medical service set-aside).

For more information please contact Nancy Bernstine at nahc@nationalaidshousing.org.

Return to top last updated: 4/13/07

Learn more about the Ryan White CARE Act
Information & Advocacy Materials

Housing and the CARE Act
One-page fact sheet from NAHC regarding the use of CARE Act dollars on housing and housing-related services

Ryan White CARE Act
at HRSA
Visit the CARE Act page at the HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau.

CARE Act Overview
A one-page PDF fact sheet prepared by the CAEAR Coalition.

FY 07 Ryan White Program Guidance

Program guide prepared by HRSA listing and defining various program services.

Section 8 Housing Vouchers

The Section 8 Housing Choice voucher program was established in 1974 and has since become the largest form of federal housing assistance. Low-income families use Section 8 to help pay for housing from the private market; the vouchers, distributed by local Public Housing Authorities, are meant to ensure that households only pay 30% of their income to rent.

NAHC supports an appropriation that fully funds the current levels of Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers in use, approximately 2.1 million, and that allows for expansion to serve some of the millions of low-income Americans in need of housing assistance. This appropriation must be made without sacrificing other critical programs for low-income and/or disabled citizens.

For more information about Section 8, please contact the National Low Income Housing Coalition at (202) 662-1530 or at info@nlihc.org.

Return to top last updated: 4/13/07

Learn more about Section 8
Information & Advocacy Materials

FY08 Housing Budget Chart
With funding status for all programs, from the National Low Income Housing Coalition

Introduction to Section 8
From CBPP.

Section 8 at HUD
Visit the Section 8 page at the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.

Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act

H.R. 1471 and S. 709 (109th Congress)

NAHC endorses the Services to End Long-Term Homelessness Act (SELHA). NAHC calls on legislators to:

Authorize and fund a new program to link those experiencing chronic homelessness with permanent housing and mainstream services that will help to stabilize their lives and advance their recovery and move to self-sufficiency. The program would require an aggressive match to leverage partnerships with states and local government and links to existing mainstream services; fund multi-year renewable grants based on sound performance criteria; employ a simple applications process compatible with existing housing resources; promote coordination between and among federal agencies, state agencies and local private and public organizations.

A bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives came together to introduce SELHA in the 109th Congress on April 5, 2005. Representatives Deborah Pryce (R-OH) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) introduced the House version of the bill, H.R. 1471, with twenty-five other House members. Senators Mike DeWine

(R-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Burr (R-NC) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced the Senate version, S. 709.

Work in the 110th Congress has been focused on achieving a set aside of money for supportive housing through SAMHSA appropriations.

For more information about SELHA please contact the National Alliance to End Homelessness at (202) 638-1526 or at naeh@naeh.org.

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Learn more about SELHA
Information & Advocacy Materials

NAEH Page on SELHA
Visit the National Alliance to End Homelessness' (NAEH) informational page on SELHA (also referred to as ELHSI).

S. 709
See the full text of the Senate version of SELHA on Thomas.

H.R. 1471
See the full text of the House version of SELHA on Thomas.