What Is the Housing Assistance Program?

About the program: The Housing Assistance Program (HAP) is a short-term rental assistance program administered by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. The program helps people disabled by HIV/AIDS avoid homelessness during periods of illness or financial distress by providing short-term rental assistance directly to the recipients' landlords.

HAP is the largest single resource of housing assistance in the metropolitan area for people living with HIV/AIDS. The program has grown from serving an average of 150 households in 1995 to a capacity of 750 in 2005. The program provides up to five payments per individual client in a 12 month period.

Current Status: HAP is currently serving a capacity number of clients and therefore is closed to NEW applicants. Any client who received a HAP payment in 2005 may reapply for rental assistance. The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) will continue to monitor HAP’s capacity and, through our Statewide Advocacy Network, will keep members updated on the program’s status. To join AFC’s Advocacy Network and receive email alerts on this and other AIDS-related issues, click here.

Eligibility requirements: To be eligible for a HAP subsidy, individuals must meet all of the following criteria:

• Must have received a HAP payment in 2005
• Reside within the city of Chicago or the surrounding counties - Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, McHenry, or Will
• Have a disability due to HIV/AIDS
• Have an income that does not exceed 50% of the median family income for their area
• Live in an apartment that does not exceed Fair Market Rent as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• Be able to safely live independently
• Receive HIV case management services

How to apply: Although HAP is currently closed to new applicants, reapplications for HAP can be submitted through your HIV case manager. If you do not have a case manager, please contact one of AFC's Program Associates at (312) 922-2322 to receive a case management referral. When calling, please specify if you live on the west, north, or south sides of the city, or if you live in one of the collar counties.

Background: The need for suitable housing has steadily increased as the numbers of people living with HIV/AIDS in the Chicago metropolitan area has grown. In response to concerns about equitable access to rent subsidies for people living with HIV/AIDS, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) conducted a competitive process in the fall of 1995 to identify an agency to plan a centrally coordinated rent subsidy program using federal Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) funds. AFC received the grant from CDPH to coordinate a rent subsidy program for persons with HIV/AIDS beginning July 1, 1996.

Partner agencies: HAP is federally funded by the HOPWA program.  AFC centrally administers HAP in metropolitan Chicago under contract by the CDPH.  Four partner agencies— Agape Missions Inc (AMI), Better Existence with HIV (BEHIV), Vital Bridges, and Heartland Human Care Services—assist AFC to implement the program consistently across the region. 

More information: For general information on rent subsidies, please contact Ric Martel at (312) 922-2322.

Partner Agencies:
Agape Missions, Inc.

Better Existence with HIV

Vital Bridges

Heartland Human Care Services