1. Housing Counts: A look at Homelessness among People with HIV in Connecticut Eileen McCarthy Connecticut AIDS Residence Coalition May 2004

2. 17,000 people living with HIV/AIDS AIDS is a growing problem in Connecticut. The number continues to rise. There is not enough designated AIDS housing.

3. New AIDS Cases, AIDS Deaths and People with AIDS By Year, Connecticut Data through December 31, 2003

5. Connecticut’s Epidemiology is unique  CT has the fastest increasing caseload of people living with AIDS in New England  CT has a higher rate of Hispanics and women with the disease  CT’s rate of transmission by injection drug use is twice the national average

6. Percent of State by State Cumulative and Living Cases

7. Higher percentage than national average are: - Hispanic - infected by injection drug use - female CategoryNationwideConnecticut Hispanic19% 29.3% Black48.6%34.6% White30.7% 35.4% Infected by IDU 25% 47.4% Infected by MSM 46%18.6% Female25.7% 30.9% Male74.3%69.1% Connecticut vs. Nationwide

8.  Being HIV+ triples the likelihood that you will become homeless  Predictors of homelessness include:  Extreme poverty  Current alcohol or drug abuse  incarceration

9. People with HIV live on extremely low incomes Nationally 37% - less than $500/month 80% - less than $1,000/month CT 90% - less than $750/month (Waterbury) 45% - less than $500 and 77% - less than $1,000 (RW) 39% – less than $500 and 84% - less than 1,000 (CARC)

10. Drug Abuse and Incarceration Among CT Citizens with HIV  CT’s rate of transmission by IDU is twice national average  1 in 6 people with HIV in CT have history with Department of Corrections  Of people with history of incarceration, 83% were infection by IDU

11. How many people living with HIV/AIDS in CT are homeless?  10% of shelter residents have HIV  1,400 households with HIV use shelter system each year  2,000 households with HIV experience some kind of homelessness at least once in a year

12. Consumer Surveys Reveal Higher rates of Homelessness  17% to 28% of consumers report being homeless in the past 12 months  This is 4,227 people or 25% of the total HIV/AIDS population.

13. Homeless people with HIV are less likely to be receiving primary medical care  19% of “in-care” respondents reported being homeless  56% of “out-of-care” respondents reported being homeless

14. Connecticut’s Housing Crisis  There is not one city or town in the entire state where a person receiving needs-based disability benefits can afford market rate housing.  CT has the sixth most expensive housing market in the country.  There are 260,000 needy households competing for 149,000 affordable housing units.

15. 0BR1BR2BR3BR4BR State of CT fair market rent (FMR) $575$711$885$1130$1325 Minimum Income Needed to afford FMR[1][1] $22,995$28,456$35,419$45,219$53,009 Income Needed as a percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) 256% Household = 1 234% Household = 2 232% Household = 3 246% Household = 4 246% Household = 5 [1][1] Out of Reach, a report of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, www.nlihc.orgwww.nlihc.org What it costs to live in CT!

16. Total Households below 200% FPL: 260,151 Less Subsidized units available: -148,930 Households in need:111,221 Subsidized Housing Gap

17. The Demand for AIDS Housing Continues to Outpace the Supply  Current AIDS housing providers serve 491 households.  This is 12% of the total homeless households with HIV  1,082 persons applied for 224 vacancies (2002)  Total applications have increased 25% while housing units have increased 19% (1999-2002)

18. No Connecticut Citizen Living with HIV/AIDS should be without a Permanent Home

19. City/ RegionCurrent HIVAIDS housing units Total Persons Living With AIDS (PLWA’s) Threshold 1 (T1) PLWA’s using shelter system (9% PLWA’s) Total Persons Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA’s) Threshold 2 (T2) PLWHA’s using shelter system (9% PLWHA’s) Threshold 3 (T3) PLWHA’s without permanent address at least once in a year Hartford County2052,0821875,4134571,500+ (28%) Tolland County 07571951523 (12%) Windham County10109102832234 (12)%) New London County203202983265100 (12%) Middlesex County7107102782048 (17.5%) New Haven County1622,0431845,3124481,381(26%) Fairfield County871,6441484,2743551,111(26%) Litchfield County09692501730 (12%) Totals4916,47658416,8371,4004,227. What is the Need for AIDS Housing?

20. MAPS

21. No personwithHIV or AIDS should be living in a shelter for the homeless 17 457 15 22 355 448 20 65 Total = 1,400 Estimates based on CARC shelter survey and CCEH homelessness data

22. 30 1,500 23 34 1,111 1,381 48 100 No person with HIV/AIDS should be without a permanent stable home of their own Total = 4,227 Underlined Hartford, Middlesex, New Haven and Fairfield County numbers are based on actual survey. All other figures are estimates based on CARC shelter survey and CCEH data.

23. Recommendations  Increase affordable permanent housing stock fg(e.g. New London, Middletown, Stamford-Norwalk)  Upgrade existing housing stock (Windham, Waterbury)  Address needs of substance users and formerly incarcerated  Focus on stabilizing at-risk housed population  Utilize local Continuum of Care for HUD funding  Get AIDS providers to participate in Continua of Care  Create true continua of housing without gaps

24.  Count people with HIV in yearly homeless census  Use drop-in centers for outreach  Include a housing specialist position in case management services wherever feasible  Fix DSS Security deposit program  Provide housing that does not disqualify active substance users but also enforces rules for community living. Recommendations

25. The End