GMHC To Receive Over $1.2M For Domestic Violence Survivors With HIV/AIDS

On June 14, at the White House's inaugural United State of Women Summit, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) was awarded $1,283,497 to implement an integrated housing assistance and supportive service program for low-income survivors of intimate partner violence who are living with HIV and AIDS.

"In GMHC's thirty-four years of serving people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, we have seen the effects of domestic violence on this community and the challenges of getting care and staying safe. This is why I am so proud to partner with AVP to launch the Safety in Housing program to make sure survivors can access the safe housing, mental health care, and HIV support they need to rebuild their lives and families," said GMHC CEO Kelsey Louie.

In addition, this funding will help GMHC launch the Safety in Housing Planning Workgroup, a service planning and coordination partnership with domestic violence, AIDS, and housing providers across New York City.

"Together we will do better for the thousands of HIV-positive survivors of domestic violence living in New York City," said Louie.

The award is a joint effort under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA). GMHC's pilot program, called Safety in Housing, includes a partnership with the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP). The program will serve up to 60 households, place 30 families in transitional or permanent housing, offer rental subsidies to 15 households, and provide short-term eviction prevention funds to 8 households annually in New York City.

"Violence has a lasting impact on survivors and family members, and also on our efforts to end the epidemic in New York. This is why we are grateful for leaders like U.S. Senators Schumer and Gillibrand who were instrumental in delivering these critical funds to New York State," said Louie. "Without partnerships with our elected officials and government agencies like HUD and DOJ, GMHC would not be able to serve the nearly 10,000 New Yorkers we reach each year. More partnerships like this are needed around the country to realize our collective goal of ending the epidemic once and for all. GMHC is honored to lead the efforts on this project. As the world's first AIDS service organization, we have both the experience and compassion to deliver real results for those who need it most."

Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) is the nation's leading provider of HIV and AIDS care, prevention services and advocacy, serving nearly 10,000 people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS in New York City, the epicenter of the epidemic in the U.S. As the world's first HIV and AIDS service organization, GMHC is an expert in providing services that every person affected by the epidemic deserves. GMHC is on the front lines caring for people who are both HIV negative and positive, including: testing, nutrition, legal, mental health and education services.

GMHC also advocates for stronger public policies at the local, state and federal level with the goal of ending AIDS as an epidemic in New York State by 2020. Most recently, GMHC and other HIV and AIDS organizations successfully persuaded the federal government to recommend widespread use of PrEP, a new daily treatment that is over 90 percent effective in preventing HIV infection.

For more information, visit www.gmhc.org.