Housing Assistance Program for People With HIV/AIDS Enrolls 18 South Dakotans
Eighteen South Dakotans have enrolled in Tri-State HELP, a program that provides housing assistance for people with HIV/AIDS in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, the AP/Aberdeen American News reports. Tri-State HELP was formed in March and currently serves 80 clients in the three states. The program receives funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS program (AP/Aberdeen American News, 11/8). Program participants can receive either short-term assistance, which lasts 21 weeks, or long-term assistance, which lasts for three years. Assistance is subsidized on a sliding scale depending on an individual's financial needs. Stephanie Koster, director of HIV/AIDS services at the Sioux Empire chapter of the Red Cross, said that Tri-State HELP also provides referrals for medical services, health care providers, medication counseling and nutrition programs. Sheryl Miller, field office director for HUD in Sioux Falls, S.D., said that Tri-State HELP provides assistance without requiring clients to be placed on longer waiting lists for regular HUD programs (Williams, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 11/7). Since 1985, South Dakota has recorded 412 HIV infections and 194 AIDS cases (AP/Aberdeen American News, 11/8).
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