Activists ask Philadelphia to expand subsidized for AIDS patients

Low-income AIDS patients are living longer, thanks to medical advances - and that means less turnover of city-subsidized housing.

That's one of the reasons the Nutter administration gave for the growing list of people with AIDS who are waiting for housing in Philadelphia.

The average number of applicants on the city's waiting list has shot up in each of the last five years, jumping from 96 in 2006 to 174 this year, according to the city Health Department.

Concerned that a longer waiting list means more AIDS patients are living on the streets or in shelters where medical attention may be lacking, ACTUP Philadelphia and other advocates for people living with HIV or AIDS pressed the administration Wednesday to provide additional housing.

"People are dying in the streets because the City of Philadelphia doesn't provide adequate housing," ACTUP member Antonio Davis said. Seven homeless people with HIV died in 2009, but the Health Department said only one had applied for housing assistance.

When it comes to housing, "there should be a priority for people with HIV who are homeless or with AIDS, because you need a stable and safe place to take your medication," said Carlos Gonzales of Proyecto Sol, which advocates for Latinos with HIV or AIDS.

Activists say permanent housing helps reduce the risk of HIV transmission, makes it easier to take medication regularly, and encourages a more stable lifestyle with respect to sex and drug use.

They also argue that providing permanent housing for people with AIDS is cheaper than relying on shelters.

ACT UP and Proyecto Sol, along with Philadelphia Global AIDS Watchdogs, held a rally outside City Hall before delivering a report to the mayor's office. The group met with mayoral spokesman Doug Oliver, who promised to schedule a meeting with city officials.

According to ACTUP, other cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle, spend city dollars - in addition to federal funds they receive - on housing AIDS patients. Philadelphia does not.

Last year, Philadelphia distributed more than half the $9 million it received from a federal subsidy program in the form of rental vouchers for low-income AIDS patients.

Under the program, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), participants pay a percentage of their income toward rent, with the rest covered by the subsidy.