Why this Toolkit?

The experiences of clients and providers of HIV/AIDS housing services are important advocacy tools, but to impact policy & funding decisions

Science-based data on housing and HIV prevention and health outcomes is IMPORTANT, and

Science-based data on the cost-effectiveness of HIV/AIDS housing interventions is ESSENTIAL.

Findings from rigorous research:

“Credential” what we have known for years as HIV/AIDS housing consumers, providers and advocates;

Provide support for the maintenance and expansion of existing HIV/AIDS housing resources; and

Point to the importance of new housing policies and practices consciously structured and studied as public health interventions.

The Policy Imperatives

Research findings provide the basis for a re-visioned, data-driven HIV/AIDS housing policy agenda that can be framed in terms of four public policy imperatives articulated by participants in the first National Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit:

Make subsidized, affordable housing available to all low-income people living with HIV/AIDS (including supportive housing for those who need it) Make housing assistance a top prevention priority, since housing is a powerful HIV prevention strategy Incorporate housing as a critical element of HIV health care Collect & analyze data to assess the impact and effectiveness of housing as an independent structural HIV prevention and healthcare intervention

With evidence to back them, policy makers can secure the resources we need to provide housing assistance and related services to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA):

As a basic human right;

As a necessary component of systems of care to enable PLWHA to manage their disease; and

As an exciting new mechanism to end the AIDS crisis by preventing new infections.

Next: How to Use the Tool Kit…