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: [email protected], 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
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