Oregon Balance of State HIV/AIDS Housing & Services Systems ...

Oregon HIV/AIDS Housing and Services Systems Integration Plan 45
care. But the OHBHI award will not eliminate the gap, and applies only to clients in the I-5
corridor.
10. Limited Access by People Living with HIV/AIDS to Mainstream Behavioral Health
Services
Steering Committee members noted the availability of limited statewide housing development funds
to serve people with behavioral health issues and unmet housing needs: Community Mental Health
Housing, Alcohol and Drug Free Housing, and the new Expanding Community Living
Opportunities fund. Demand for these funds exceeds availability, and to date they have not
supported developments with units dedicated to people living with HIV/AIDS.
On an individual client level, OHOP housing coordinators and partners have also had trouble
accessing the network of mental illness respite beds across the state. Qualification criteria can be
strict, and there are limited points of referral such as mental health departments.
Human Services and Public Assistance
Many people living with HIV/AIDS in Oregon have an array of basic needs that are common to
low-income people in general. These can include family support, transportation, food and
nutritional assistance, hygiene, and general financial needs. Awareness and understanding of the
service needs of people living with HIV/AIDS tend to be limited among the many government and
nonprofit agencies that provide general human services throughout the balance of state. Stigma
based on misconceptions and generalizations about HIV disease and people who are living with
HIV/AIDS can be a barrier to fair and compassionate service delivery.
11. Loss and Scarcity of Funding for Human Services
Nationwide, human services tend to be locally funded – and usually underfunded, especially in
smaller, more rural counties. In some areas of Oregon, the loss of timber revenues upon which such
counties have relied for many years has compounded with an aging population and loss of young
people to the cities, dealing major blows to the budgets of human service agencies. The small
number of “one-stop” centers in which multiple agencies coordinate their services to wrap around
client households has dwindled, making the services that remain harder to access.
12. Family Support Needs
OHOP serves a substantial number of family households (as compared to individuals); this
proportion varies by region, with more families receiving housing help in Eugene, for example, than
in Salem. Families typically need larger housing units, of which the supply may be limited. Also,
different family members may require different kinds of services, thereby increasing the number of
systems with which a household is involved and the complexity of meeting their needs. Some types
of housing and services options funded for people living with HIV/AIDS may be more or less
appropriate to family groups.
Criminal Justice
A large percentage of new HIV diagnoses in Oregon are among people who have served time in
jails or prisons. Research also shows that people with histories of incarceration are much more
likely to have HIV/AIDS than the general population. Members of the Steering Committee lauded
the Oregon Statewide Supportive Community Reentry (OSSCR) funding, a HOPWA competitive