San Antonio Faces Shortage of Affordable Housing for People Living With HIV/AIDS
Like several other areas across the country, the San Antonio region is facing a shortage of affordable housing for local residents living with HIV/AIDS, the San Antonio Express-News reports. Jill Rips, assistant director of the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, said that the foundation last year helped only 621 of the 2,000 to 2,500 Bexar County residents living with HIV/AIDS. As of December, the foundation had provided rental assistance to 124 local residents through a $200,000 federal grant, but the housing shortage persists. To address the problem, San Antonio is shifting federal funds from social services to building projects, Laura Berrones, a city management analyst, said. Rod Radle, executive director of San Antonio Affordable Housing, said that two small apartment complexes for people with HIV/AIDS will open by the end of the year. Eight of the 14 units will house mothers with HIV/AIDS and six other apartments will be for single HIV-positive people (Russell, San Antonio Express-News, 1/16).
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