ORLANDO | Orange County Commissioners unanimously passed an expansion of their contract with the Hope & Help of Central Florida March 25 which will allow more housing opportunities and services for those living with HIV and AIDS.
The amendment was introduced by District 6 Commissioner Mayra Uribe and will increase the budget by $400,000, bringing the overall contract amount to $1.024 million. This propelled budget will go towards a more cost-effective housing market with tenant-based housing assistance as well as a greater field of services for short-term rent/utility and mortgage assistance, permanent housing placement and short-term housing assistance. The funding for this program is coming from the City of Orlando Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
HOPWA is a federal program which addresses the housing opportunities and needs of low-income individuals living with HIV/AIDS. HOPWA works to provide services to those with HIV who “have an income at or below 80% of the area median income,” per the Orange County Government website.
To be approved for aid by HOPWA, you must be diagnosed with HIV or AIDS with proof, have an income level which meets or goes below the moderate-income level for your location in the state and directly for Orange, Osceola, Lake and Seminole Counties, you must provide proof of residency. To assess your location’s moderate-income level, you can visit the HUD website. To apply for housing, you must set up an appointment through a housing case management.
Hope & Help is a medical clinic which offers health services, testing, primary care and outreach programs and their goal is to end the HIV epidemic in Florida according to their website. Watermark Out News has contacted Help & Help for comment on the funding increase but did not hear back by press.
In September 2023, Orange County Commissioners authorized a contract amount of $589,025 to the Hope & Help Center of Central Florida. Additional funding for this program was used to “expand services to assist 50 households for the grant period through September 30, 2025,” according to the Orange County Commissioners website. With the end of this bill, the Hope & Help Center will provide more services to the HIV/AIDS community due to the new and updated contract amount of the new amendment.
On a national scale, the current administration has been open about cutting funds for HIV/AIDS care. Arianne Keegan, Director of Communications at Legal Action Center, a nonprofit organization based in New York which tackles discrimination and provides opportunities for people with HIV or AIDS, arrest records or substance use disorders, believes it to be crucial for local policymakers to stand against these nationwide policies.
“Cutting the HIV Prevention Division at the CDC would not only undermine our nation’s ability to respond effectively to outbreaks of all communicable diseases and significantly impact ongoing prevention efforts in communities most vulnerable to HIV, but it would also risk a resurgence of this preventable disease, which would result in unnecessary illness and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in medical care,” Keegan said.
“Without this funding, states will be unable to fill the gaps, and we risk a resurgence not just of HIV, but also viral hepatitis, STIs, and tuberculosis, placing greater financial burden on state health care systems and reversing years of hard-earned progress.” Teresa Miller, LAC’s National Director of Health Initiatives, said.
Read more about HOPWA and their services at OrangeCountyfl.net.
