More than one-quarter of people with HIV (PWH) experience shelter or housing needs, according to findings published in AIDS. Sharoda Dasgupta, PhD, MPH, and colleagues examined 2015-2020 data from the CDC’s Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) and 2019 funding data from Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA). Nationally, 27.7% of PWH had shelter or housing needs, and—among those who needed housing services—40.4% did not receive them, from 21.3% of patients in New York to 62.3% in Georgia. Reasons for unmet needs were multi-factorial and differed by jurisdiction, according to the study results. Additionally, 2019 HOPWA funding per person in need would cover up to 1.24 months of rent per person nationally and may not have matched housing needs for PWH in certain jurisdictions. “The National HIV/AIDS Strategy underscores the importance of addressing unstable housing in meeting national HIV goals,” Dr. Dasgupta
and colleagues wrote. “Addressing housing service needs necessitates a multipronged approach at the provider, jurisdiction, and national level. At the facility level, providers should routinely assess housing status among HIV patients, per clinical guidelines.”
