A new study points to yet another complication: The crisis might be preventing more HIV/AIDS patients from getting treatment. According to data from
"Housing and transportation are extraordinarily important factors impacting people living with HIV/AIDS and affecting their linkage to (and retention in) HIV care," the report says.
Miami receives federal funding specifically meant for housing people with HIV/AIDS, but as rents rise, fewer people can be helped. As of last year, an estimated 10,787 of them needed housing assistance, but the city was able to hand out only 1,032 vouchers.
That's a problem, because according to a recent county survey, the average income for a person living with HIV/AIDS was just $1,204 a month, barely enough to afford a studio apartment and still pay for necessities such as food and electricity. Twenty percent of survey takers said they were in impermanent housing: either homeless, bunking with family or friends, renting a room by the week or month, or in other transitional living quarters.
Many said they did not have enough money for a security deposit plus first and last month’s rent, while others had no credit or bad credit. Some said they didn’t have transportation to look for housing. If given the opportunity, most (60 percent) said they'd like to live in the city of Miami; others chose Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, and Hialeah.
Even those who had secured housing weren't out of the woods. Thirteen percent reported experiencing discrimination on the basis of their HIV/AIDS status, sexual orientation, or status as an ex-offender, while 11 percent said their landlord had disclosed their HIV/AIDS status to others without their consent. In fact, one of the top three reasons for moving was a desire for more privacy about their status.
For now, though, it appears the problem is primed to get worse before it gets better: Due to a change in federal housing law last year, Miami-Dade will lose $600,000 to help house people with HIV/AIDS, according to the county.
In response, Getting to Zero member Roberto