Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)
The Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS, known as HOPWA, is funded through a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide states (“HOPWA”) and designated eligible metropolitan areas (“HUD HOPWA”) with resources and incentives for meeting the housing needs of persons with HIV disease and AIDS. The Department of Health, which contracts with lead agency organizations at the local level, administers Florida’s HOPWA program. The state HOPWA program provides temporary housing assistance to eligible individuals. The services include: Transitional Housing, Assistance with Rent, Mortgage, Utilities and Supportive Services (such as Case Management).
Services are provided to income eligible individuals with documented HIV disease and their families. By coordinating HOPWA services through the Ryan White Part B consortia, HOPWA participants have ready access to a variety of support services that contribute to a stable housing situation. Services not approved include: payments which exceed actual costs, payments made directly to clients, cash payments of any kind (including checks made out to cash), property taxes that are not included in mortgage payments, long distance telephone charges, fines and penalties, down payment or closing costs on a home.
Area 8 includes “State HOPWA” in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Sarasota counties. The Health Planning Council of Southwest Florida is the lead agency for this program.
The current 2010-2011 State HOPWA budget for Area 8 (Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Sarasota) totals $1,062,402 The direct client services budget is shown in the table below.
|
State HOPWA Jul 10 – Jun 11 |
|
|
Total Direct Services |
$1,062,402 |
|
Case Management |
$197,606 |
|
Short Term Rent, Mortgage, and Utility Assistance |
$790,428 |