Housing Opportunities for People Living with HIV/AIDS

Successful outcomes for people living with HIV are closely linked to housing. Our evidence-based housing services prevent homelessness and help our most vulnerable clients secure safe, stable housing.

Homeless Prevention

By and large, individuals living with HIV who are gainfully employed, have health insurance and are stably housed, can more successfully manage their HIV.

What happens when there is an interruption in that stability – such as job loss, an unexpected medical expense, or other life emergencies?

We offer short-term financial assistance to mitigate housing insecurity and homelessness through the HOPWA – a federal program that provides emergency rent, mortgage, and utility payments to clients for up to 21 weeks per year or until they reach a maximum benefit. Keeping our clients stably housed and linked to case management and medical care ensures adherence to life-saving medications. Life-saving medications keep viral loads low or undetectable thereby preventing new HIV infections.

Case management for clients also includes assistance accessing other community support systems such as HEAP from North Coast Energy Services, CARE and FERA offered through PG&E. Referrals for food are made to Food for Thought and the Redwood Empire Food Bank.

Housing Placement Services

Securing housing in Sonoma County is competitive and expensive, made more so by the October 2017 firestorms that decimated thousands of housing structures.

Face to Face clients who have been homeless, unemployed, lack good credit, and/or have no credit history find the task of searching for permanent housing daunting. Our team teaches our clients how to search, prepare rental applications, address credit issues, interview well, and successfully maintain housing, once it has been secured. Finding housing is no small task, especially so for our clients who have mental health challenges and/or are economically disadvantaged. Our team assists clients who present with these disadvantages in a way that supports and encourages successful outcomes for them. This may be connecting them with necessary mental health services and/or facilitating Social Security Disability Service claims.

Thankfully, we partner with the Sonoma County Housing Authority on a voucher program that is centered around the concept of housing first. Not only does this program provide rental subsidies so that our most vulnerable clients can afford housing, Face to Face has the financial resources to pay application fees, the deposit, and the first-month rent.