Community Need

AIDS Help’s mission is to try to place people living with HIV/AIDS in safe, decent, appropriate and affordable housing so that they will maintain and manage their health, stay adherent to medical treatments, and lower the risk of spreading HIV.

In order for the vast majority of AIDS Help’s clients to find stable, long-term and affordable housing they would have to pay on average $1,158 for a small one-bedroom apartment, and over $900 for an efficiency. For persons living with AIDS and receiving benefits on SSI or SSD it is impossible to find a suitable rental apartment they can afford in Key West and areas of the Florida Keys.

AIDS Help’s housing case managers are finding that many available efficiency and one-bedroom units are not well maintained and often lack the basic requirement to pass a housing quality standards inspection (HQS). In addition, many units advertised as one-bedrooms are actually efficiency units that are overly priced and cannot qualify for rental assistance occupancy.

Faced with increasing rental costs and decreasing availability of affordable units within the Monroe County housing market, AIDS Help must purchase or construct housing for the increasing numbers of poor clients. Of the 335 total client population as of December 31, 2008, there were 256 AHI clients (77%) at or below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Of the total client caseload, 309 clients (93%) were at or below 200% of the FPL and unable to meet high monthly rental costs.