RESULTS

Individual characteristics

% (N) unless otherwise specified

Gender  

Male 65% (255)

Female 35% (136)

Race/Ethnicity  

African American 35% (137)

White-not Hispanic

18% (69)

Puerto Rican 41.% (161)

Other Latino 6.% (25)

Less than high school education

45% (176)

Mental illness diagnoses

50% (196)

HIV Diagnosis 26% (101)

Criminal conviction 65% (253)

Drug Use in the past 30 days

62% (244)

Monthly income $560 (mean) ($424.60 median)

Age 45 (mean)

Level of Access Parameter Adjusted Odds Ratio (95% CI) of significant

covariatesReceived information

about rental subsidies (n=282)

Female 4.66 (2.51-8.67)

Mental Health Diagnosis 1.90 (1.17-3.09)

Currently Homeless 0.43 (0.27-0.70)

 Applied for a rental

subsidy(n=215)

 

Female 5.82 (3.43-9.87)Mental Health Diagnosis 2.17 (1.34-3.50)

Race  African American 4.08 (1.97-8.47)

Puerto Rican 1.69 (0.85-3.35)

Other Latino 1.16 (0.35-3.89)

Currently Homeless 0.35 (0.21-0.56)

Received a rental subsidy(n=105)

Female 2.97 (1.84-4.79)

HIV diagnosis 2.39 (1.44-3.98)

Level of Access Parameter Adjusted Odds Ratio (95% CI) for significant

covariatesReceived information

about supportive housing (n=169)

HIV diagnosis 3.27 (1.99-5.38)

Mental Health Diagnosis 1.76 (1.15-2.70)

Currently Homeless 0.62 (0.40-0.98)

Applied for supportive housing(n=93)

HIV diagnosis 5.46 (3.24-9.21)

Mental Health Diagnosis 2.49 (1.48-4.21)

Received supportive housing(n=73)

HIV diagnosis 7.65 (4.25-13.77)

Mental Health Diagnosis 2.51 (1.36-4.61)

Homelessness and housing instability are significant barriers to addressing HIV/AIDS

Homeless people living with AIDS are more likely to delay entry into care, less likely to receive optimal antiretroviral therapy, and less likely to adhere to medications

Despite demonstrated effectiveness, there are numerous barriers that preclude people from accessing housing including:

Lack of funding for federal housing programs; 9.3 million renters pay more than half of monthly income toward housing costs

Restrictive legislative policies; eligibility criteria limit housing options for drug users and those with criminal histories

Little research has explored who is able to access these limited resources and this study is the first to examine multiple levels of housing access, including who receives information on, who applies for, and who is more likely to receive housing

Objectives:

1. Explore multiple levels of housing access including who receives information on, applies for, and actually receives housing

2. Assess which individual characteristics predict greater or more limited access to subsidized or supportive housing

Survey of 392 low-income residents of Hartford and East Hartford, CT, recruited through a targeted sampling plan Inclusion criteria: 21 years of age or older; resident of Hartford or East Hartford; low-income (as defined by HUD as living on 50% or less of median

income)

To assess housing access: Stepwise logistic regressions explore who receives information on, who applies for, and who receives rental subsidies and supportive housing; covariates were significant at the .05 level

Variables analyzed: gender, HIV status, mental health diagnosis, race/ethnicity, criminal convictions, current drug use, education level, monthly income, current housing status

Logistic regression analyses of multiple levels of access to rental subsidies

Logistic regression analyses of multiple levels of access to supportive housing

Housing programs have succeeded at increasing access for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, but access to housing programs remains limited for other low-income individuals

Individuals vulnerable to HIV, including the homeless with mental illness or current drug use, may also benefit from housing as a means of HIV prevention

Funding for rental subsidies and supportive housing should be increased to meet the needs of other low-income residents, especially those who may be vulnerable to HIV

Access to rental subsidies: Women, those with mental illness, and African Americans were more likely to receive information on

and apply for rental subsidies; individuals who were currently homeless were less likely to receive information on or apply for subsidies

Women and those with HIV were more likely to actually receive rental subsidies

Access to supportive housing: Supportive housing access is limited to those with HIV diagnoses and mental illness. Those with

HIV have over three times the adjusted odds of receiving information on, applying for, and receiving supportive housing.

Housing access as HIV prevention and care

Katherine Quinn, MA1

, Julia Dickson-Gomez, PhD2

, Timothy McAuliffe, PhD2

, Jill Owczarzak, PhD2

1 Institute for Health and Society, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI;

2 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI;

CONCLUSION

METHODS

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES

This research was funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA024578) and the National Institute of Mental Health (P30MH57226). For more information please contact: Julia Dickson-Gomez, PhD: jdickson@mcw.edu, 414-955-7700

Access to supportive housing

43% received information on

supportive housing

49% applied for supportive

housing

71% received supportive

housing

29% didn’t receive supportive housing

51% didn’t apply for supportive housing

57% received no info on supportive

housing

Individual characteristics Access to rental subsidies and supportive housing

Access to rental subsidies

72% received info on rental subsidies

74% applied for rental subsidies

49% received rental subsidies

31% didn’t receive rental subsidies

26% didn’t apply for rental subsidies

28% received no info on rental subsidies