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For
people with HIV/AIDS, safe, adequate housing is not just a basic
necessity—it is critical to their health. Unfortunately,
this simple need for a place to call home often goes unmet. As
the illness strips HIV-infected individuals of their ability to
earn a living, they are often left destitute. Facing hardship,
despair and a host of critical health problems, they are unable
to care for themselves or their families.
While medication can,
in some cases, help stabilize the virus, there is still no cure
for this devastating disease. Even when individuals do respond
favorably to antiretroviral therapy, such treatment comes with
a heavy price: The drugs themselves often cause highly toxic side
effects. At the very least, the efficacy of AIDS medication is
dependent upon the patient's daily nutritional intake (some medications
must be taken with food, some cannot; some must be taken with
low-fat foods or fatty foods, and so on). But homeless people
have no way to refrigerate medications and have little or no access
to clean water and nutritious food. Without a stable place to
live, there is little hope of maximizing the health of this highly
vulnerable population.
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studies confirm that persons living with HIV/AIDS must have
stable housing to access comprehensive healthcare and adhere
to complex HIV/AIDS drug therapies. Even though stable housing
has been shown to be a necessary link to medical and supportive
services, accessing housing is difficult as the wait for affordable
housing increases in many communities across the country.
Compounding the problem of waiting lists is access to housing
with the services to care and treat the increasing number
of persons living not only with HIV/AIDS but also with histories
of homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse.
— U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development
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As the epidemic intensifies, an increasing number of individuals
and families must confront a devastating diagnosis without benefit
of protected housing, health insurance, a support network or the
education and life skills they need to fight the disease. Assisting
these destitute AIDS-impacted persons is at the heart of The Serra
Project's mission.
The Serra Project is one of the few providers to meet a continuum-of-care
housing priorities for medically indigent persons living with
HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County. Our programs range from assisted
living to permanent housing to housing case management and work
in concert with each other to minimize the client's risk of homelessness.
For group home clients whose health may stabilize, transitioning
to independent living is easier because we operate our own permanent
supportive housing program. Conversely, if someone becomes too
ill to live on their own in permanent housing, a return to 24-hour
care at one of our group homes is always possible. Our housing
case management services place unstably housed clients with symptomatic
HIV and AIDS in all housing programs, not just our own.
Since its inception, The Serra Project has provided housing and
support services to more than 1,200 AIDS-affected persons living
below the poverty line in Los Angeles County. In the last five years,
37% of them have been the dependent children of AIDS-impacted parents.
Read about our residents
Laura,
John T.
and Joseph.
Privacy
Policy: The Serra Project recognizes that visitors to its website
may have concerns about confidentiality. Although we collect no
personal information directly from this site, if you choose to
send us an electronic mail message you may also be sending us
your personal information, such as your name and e-mail address.
This information may be noted by The Serra Project in order to
respond to your e-mail. The Serra Project does not sell, trade
or release the names, e-mail addresses or contact information
of its website visitors.
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