National Implementation of Supportive Housing Initiative to Close the Gap on HIV-Related Inequities Outlined in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy
May 07 2024 - 9:00AM
The Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH) at the
Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) and CSH
(Corporation for Supportive Housing) are leading a new national
initiative to implement, adapt, and evaluate housing interventions
for three priority populations of people with HIV. Through a
four-year cooperative agreement with the Health Resources and
Services Administration’s (HRSA) HIV/AIDS Bureau, CISWH in
partnership with JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. and
University of Massachusetts Lowell, serve as the Evaluation
Provider, while CSH in partnership with Collaborative Solutions
serve as the Implementation and Technical Assistance Provider to 10
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program sites. The project will address the
intersectionality among housing status, identification with one of
the three priority populations, and HIV-related health outcomes.
The project is funded through HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program
Part F Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Program.
“We know people with HIV experiencing homelessness and housing
instability continue to disproportionately face challenges in
accessing care and achieving improved health outcomes,” said
Allyson Baughman, PhD, MPH, and principal investigator at BUSSW.
"This innovative initiative represents opportunities to integrate
HIV care and behavioral health with housing interventions to
improve health outcomes among priority populations of people with
HIV."
In 2018, approximately 9.5 percent of people with HIV in
the U.S. experienced homelessness compared to less than one percent
of all Americans. Housing is a social determinant of health that
has a substantial impact on HIV prevention and care outcomes. The
experiences of homelessness and housing instability are associated
with lower rates of retention in care, adherence to antiretroviral
treatment (ART), and sustained viral suppression. The Supporting
Replication (SURE) of Housing Interventions in the Ryan White
HIV/AIDS Program — also known as the SURE Housing Initiative —
seeks to strengthen the evidence base for housing interventions and
psychosocial services for the following three priority populations
of people with HIV, who often have the highest HIV-related
disparities:
- People who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
queer or questioning (LGBTQ+).
- Youth and young adults (aged 18-24 years).
- People who have been involved with the legal system (defined as
any person who is engaged at any point along the continuum of the
criminal justice system as a defendant including arrest,
incarceration, and community supervision).
The SURE Housing Initiative aligns with goal three in the
National HIV/AIDS Strategy: 2022–2025 which is “Reduce HIV-related
disparities and health inequities” and specifically “3.4.6 Develop
new and scale up effective, evidence-based or evidence-informed
interventions that address intersecting factors of HIV,
homelessness or housing instability, mental health and violence,
substance use, and gender especially among cis- and transgender
women and gay and bisexual men.”
“In addition to living with HIV, people from sexual and gender
minority populations, young adults, and people involved with the
legal system face significant barriers to obtaining housing like
social isolation, stigma, and lack of access to quality care,” said
Massah Massaquoi, MPH, senior program manager at CSH. “We are
honored to provide technical assistance, training, and coaching
opportunities to the funded sites, drawing upon our expertise
deeply rooted in evidenced-based and equitable approaches. Our
commitment is to guide and support these sites, facilitating
connections between affordable housing and HIV care services with a
foundation grounded in equity and quality that help people
thrive.”
Through the SURE Housing Initiative, funded organizations will
replicate the evidence-based rapid re-housing intervention in the
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to decrease health and housing
disparities. This intervention was developed to help people quickly
exit homelessness and return to stable, permanent housing. By
addressing housing and behavioral health needs and supporting
clients with their HIV care, the initiative seeks to improve health
outcomes along the HIV care continuum, including linkage,
engagement, and retention in care, as well as viral suppression.
The SURE Housing Initiative funds the following 10 organizations
across the U.S.:
- AIDS Foundation Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
- AIDS Services of Dallas, Dallas, Texas
- Big Bend Cares, Tallahassee, Fla.
- Care Resource Community Health Centers, Miami, Fla.
- DAP Health, Palm Springs, Ca.
- Doorways, St. Louis, Mo.
- Eastern Oregon Center for Independent Living, Ontario,
Ore.
- Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), New York, N.Y.
- Orange County Government and Zebra Youth, Orlando, Fla.
- The Open Door, Pittsburgh, Pa.
To learn more about this project, visit
https://targethiv.org/SUREHousing.
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About the Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health at
Boston University School of Social Work The Boston
University team includes researchers from the Center for Innovation
in Social Work and Health (CISWH) and the School of Public Health.
CISWH is dedicated to expanding the impact of social work in health
care and public health in order to improve the health and
well-being of vulnerable populations nationally and globally. The
Center seeks to improve outcomes, patient experience, and
population health; reduce costs; and promote health equity and
social justice. CISWH promotes social work leadership in health
through transdisciplinary, cross-sector collaboration with public
health, medicine, health economics, technology, and other relevant
disciplines. CISWH has an over 20-year history as a research,
policy, and training center on health services and systems of care
for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, including
people with HIV. Learn more at www.ciswh.org.
About Corporation for Supportive HousingCSH (Corporation
for Supportive Housing) advances affordable and accessible housing
aligned with services by advocating for effective policies and
funding, equitably investing in communities, and strengthening the
supportive housing field. Since our founding in 1991, CSH has been
the only national nonprofit intermediary focused solely on
increasing the availability of supportive housing. Over the course
of our work, we have created more than 467,600 units of affordable
and supportive housing and distributed over $1.5 billion in loans
and grants. Our workforce is central to accomplishing this work. We
employ approximately 170 people across 30 states and U.S.
Territories. As an intermediary, we do not directly develop or
operate housing but center our approach on collaboration with a
wide range of people, partners, and sectors. For more information,
visit www.csh.org.
SPNS Funding StatementThis project is supported by the
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award
totaling $17,199,999 with no percentage financed with
non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an
endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more
information, please visit HRSA.gov.
Visit TargetHIV.org/SUREHousing for more
information.
Garrett Lloyd
Corporation for Supportive Housing
617.620.3752
garrett.lloyd@csh.org
Allyson Baughman PhD, MPH
Boston University
617.358.1251
allysonb@bu.edu
Massah Massaquoi, MPH
Corporation for Supportive Housing
609.802.5765
massah.massaquoi@csh.org