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AIDS ADVOCATES RALLY AT CITY HALL
IN SUPPORT OF HASA FOR ALL ACT
LEGISLATION WOULD EXPAND RENTAL ASSISTANCE TO LOW-INCOME
HIV-POSITIVE NEW YORKERS REGARDLESS OF AIDS DIAGNOSIS
September 25, 2007 — Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), The New York City AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN), Housing Works, and hundreds of other advocates, activists, service providers and people living with HIV and AIDS rallied on the steps of City Hall today in support of the HASA for All Act. This vital legislation, introduced in the City Council on September 6 by Councilmember Annabel Palma, would extend rental assistance and other needed benefits to all low-income and homeless HIV-positive New Yorkers. Existing regulations from the NYC HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) require an AIDS diagnosis in order to be eligible for benefits, meaning a person living with HIV must reach a T-cell count of 200 or below, or be diagnosed with an opportunistic infection.
"The time is now for action from the City Council. As a matter of fact, it's long overdue," said Shirlene Cooper, Co-Director of the NYC AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN). "Homeless people living with HIV deserve to live in dignity without having to worry about surviving on the streets. As service providers, we need a better option than just saying 'Sorry, we can't help you.' We call on the leadership of the City Council to address this cruel policy."
According to HASA, there are approximately 31,000 people currently receiving benefits, or about one-third of all New Yorkers diagnosed with HIV. Another 8,000 people with HIV cannot receive needed assistance because they have not been diagnosed with AIDS and are not considered "sick enough" for HASA. Some have resorted to desperate measures — including discontinuing medication regimens — in order to drop their T-cell count and obtain an AIDS diagnosis.
"New Yorkers with HIV should not have to risk their lives in order to receive basic benefits," said Marjorie J. Hill, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of GMHC. "We're gathered at City Hall to speak out in support of HASA for All because it would provide people with HIV with the stability needed to maintain their health and to prevent them from progressing to AIDS in the first place."
Several recent studies, including a collaborative Housing and Health Study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have confirmed that housing stability promotes adherence to life-saving medications and more efficacious health care for those who are living with HIV, and actually reduces risk behavior, therefore preventing further HIV transmission. Another study, from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, reports that promoting housing as HIV care and prevention will save millions of dollars in the long run in health care costs and shelter provision. HASA for All is simply sound public health and economic policy.
"I commend the Prevention Planning Group and the Ryan White Planning Council for recognizing the important role housing plays as a prevention tool," said Charles King, President and CEO of Housing Works. "Hopefully our presence at City Hall today will force the city administration and the City Council to do the same. HASA for All is the single most significant thing we can do as a city to bring an end to this epidemic."
The NYC AIDS HOUSING NETWORK (NYCAHN) is the nation's only membership organization comprised and led by low-income people living with HIV/AIDS, and advocates for more housing, better housing, and sound public policies.
HOUSING WORKS is dedicated to fighting the twin crises of AIDS and homelessness. The largest grassroots AIDS organization and the largest minority-controlled AIDS organization in the U.S., Housing Works provides housing, medical care, job training, case management, HIV prevention, counseling and testing, and other services to low-income and homeless New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS.
GAY MEN'S HEALTH CRISIS (GMHC) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based organization committed to national leadership in the fight against AIDS. Our mission is to reduce the spread of HIV disease, help people with HIV maintain and improve their health and independence, and keep the prevention, treatment and cure of HIV an urgent national and local priority. In fulfilling this mission we will remain true to our heritage by fighting homophobia and affirming the individual dignity of all gay men and lesbians.
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© 2007 Gay Men's Health Crisis
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