Abstract
This paper provides an account of how young, HIV-positive women manage their lives on limited budgets in four United States cities: New York City, New Orleans, Miami, and Chicago. The study findings elucidate city-to-city variability in housing assistance, and how this manifests in locality specific differences in the experience of HIV. Our research suggests that the receipt of housing assistance has ramifications for women’s engagement in care, and for their health. Women not receiving aid often move frequently in and out of homelessness, or “double up” with others in complex household arrangements to share costs. Women with long-term housing assistance, while still struggling financially, possess a stable base from which to approach daily life and HIV care. This account suggests a need for empirical research assessing the impact of local variations in housing assistance on specific health outcomes for those with HIV. It also highlights the importance of understanding local contexts when designing housing interventions at both the individual and structural levels.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all the women who participated in the study. We would also like to thank: The Adolescent Trials Network (ATN), Lori Perez of Westat (Rockville, Maryland), Elizabeth Enriquez, Luz Medina, Melinda Marquez, and Dr. Donna Futterman at the Montifiore Medical Center Adolescent AIDS Program in New York City; Melissa Moo-Young, Donna Maturo, Hannah Major-Wilson, Helen Gutierrez, and Dr. Larry Friedman at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida; Ray Lewis, from the City of Miami HOPWA program; Sacha Fiol, with Empower U of Miami, Florida; Hope Barrett, Camille Williamson, and Dr. Jaime Martinez at the CORE Center in Chicago, Illinois; Ric Martel and Arturo Bendixen of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago; and Leslie Kozina, Trina Jeanjacques, and Dr. Sue Ellen Abdalian with the Tulane Medical Center.
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Scott, A., Ellen, J., Clum, G. et al. HIV and Housing Assistance in Four U.S. Cities: Variations in Local Experience. AIDS Behav 11 (Suppl 2), 140–148 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-007-9247-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-007-9247-2