Why this matters:

The federally funded program is one means of assistance for people seeking secure housing in San Diego, which is experiencing an ongoing housing and homelessness crisis.

Several thousand people in San Diego living with HIV/AIDS have applied to receive housing assistance vouchers and been placed on a growing waitlist for a program that has been at capacity for two years now.

Factors such as high housing costs, a shortage of affordable housing and limited funding for housing aid have contributed to the hold up, according to San Diego County spokesperson Tim McClain.

This story came from notes taken by Thomas Vedder, a San Diego Documenter, at a Joint City/County HIV Housing Committee meeting last month. The Documenters program trains and pays community members to document what happens at public meetings. Read the note here.

The program, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, or HOPWA, is the only federal program that exclusively provides housing assistance to low-income people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. The program gives funds to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the distribution of grants to state and local entities. 

Over the past five years, the County of San Diego’s waitlist for receiving rental assistance with HOPWA funds has increased by an average of 15% every year, according to McClain. 

While HOPWA funding also covers some services, tenant-based rental assistance vouchers are a key resource of the program – and what so many people are waiting to receive.

Unlike the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher distributed by the San Diego Housing Commission, which has an average wait of 12 to 15 years, HOPWA beneficiaries are required to have a medical diagnosis of HIV or AIDS.

This year, the county set aside funds to support up to 130 vouchers based on the local HOPWA funding and program costs, according to McClain. Since the maximum number of vouchers are being used right now, new applicants get placed on a waitlist.

McClain said the last time new applicants were selected from the waitlist was in October 2023. The joint City and County HIV Housing Committee includes members living with HIV/AIDS. They advise the county on how to spend local HOPWA funds and say they are continuing to identify funding sources to bridge the gaps in current opportunities. 

In a July 16 meeting, the committee voted to preserve existing services in a funding split of 80% going toward housing and 20% to services including help with moving, paying utility bills and providing people who are HIV-symptomatic with home-delivered meals.

They also voted to freeze the distribution of rental vouchers as the local HOPWA allocation did not increase.

The county received $6.4 million in HOPWA funds in 2024, more than twice the $2.8 million the county received a decade ago. However, growth has slowed in recent years, McClain said.

Local providers are feeling the squeeze. 

“We’re not able to serve as many people because inflation goes up,” said Stacey Drew, the director of supportive services at Townspeople, a local nonprofit that provides aid to people experiencing homelessness who are also living with HIV/AIDS and other medical conditions.

“We can’t afford to – there’s just no way,” Drew added.

 While Townspeople once served 120 people a year in their emergency housing program, it’s now around 90 people a year.

The organization offers a voucher program that funds a private stay at a hotel or motel for an average of 30 days.

Recently, hotel rates have gone up, impacting the number of people they’re able to help, she said.

Christine Perez is an HIV case manager at Stepping Stone, one of the county’s six contracted providers. She said with fewer vouchers being issued and the anticipated HOPWA budget cuts, the program is “not a reliable potential option for clients.” 

Stepping Stone of San Diego serves the LGBTQ+ community through alcohol and drug treatment and other health services. As a case manager, Perez helps clients find housing as they are transitioning out of sober living arrangements.

While HOPWA housing assistance has declined, Perez says Stepping Stone has been able to help clients find permanent housing – “We just have to utilize other services available,” she said.

In 2016, the county adopted the Getting to Zero initiative that aims to end the HIV epidemic by increasing testing availability, providing access to treatment and supportive services and creating prevention strategies.

San Diego County in 2022 was outpacing Los Angeles County in the rate of new HIV infections. In 2024, there were 15,035 people living with HIV in San Diego County and 437 newly reported cases in county residents that year.

Housing stability can help prevent prevent the spread because housed people receive a quicker HIV diagnosis and entry into care, as well as a reduced risk of getting and transmitting the disease. But housing security is out of reach for many on their own.

All but two of the people seeking housing services at Fraternity House are considered extremely low-income, and many live with a chronic disability leaving them unable to work, said Danni Hickey, Fraternity House’s executive director.

“Housing is health care,” Hickey said. “Without some means of ensuring that housing outside of our programs will be affordable for residents, moving forward isn’t possible for them.”

Type of Content

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.