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AFC Leads Nation's First Housing
Partnership for Chronically Ill Homeless
AFC Receives $1.3 Million Federal Grant for Housing Research Program
In November 2002, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) was selected as
the lead agency for a three-year demonstration project to provide housing
for chronically ill homeless individuals and to evaluate the cost-benefits
of a comprehensive array of housing and social services. The first of
its kind in the nation, the project will help homeless people with HIV,
cancer, diabetes, and other chronic health conditions improve their health
and achieve housing stability.
The project, named the Chicago Housing for Health Partnership (CHHP),
was developed by a 15-member coalition of housing, healthcare, and respite
care providers. In December 2002, AFC received a $1.3 million grant award
from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide supportive
housing to homeless individuals living with HIV/AIDS and their families
in the CHHP program. The grant, one of only two awarded to agencies in
Illinois, will allow three CHHP partner agencies—Housing Opportunities
for Women, Vital Bridges (the agency formerly known as Open Hand Chicago),
and Featherfist—to establish 33 new scattered-site housing units
in the north, west, and south sides of Chicago.
Under the traditional care system, homeless persons may move multiple
times between transitional facilities because shelters only allow individuals
to stay for a certain period of time. Ultimately, many end up back on
the streets. Research shows that homeless people with chronic medical
conditions are highly vulnerable to medical emergencies and death, and
often incur high costs to government-sponsored safety-net programs. By
aggressively offering the population coordinated and intensive housing,
medical, and support services, CHHP expects better health outcomes and
lower long-term costs.
CHHP is based on the "Housing First" service model developed by the
National Alliance to End Homelessness and adopted by the Chicago Continuum
of Care for homeless services. Under the "Housing First" model, chronically
ill homeless individuals receive medical and support services once stabilized
in a permanent housing setting, rather than in a transitional shelter
or through costly emergency room services.
The project will also include a strong evaluation component, the results
of which will provide housing coalitions across the nation with valuable
best-practice models for cost-effective, interagency approaches to serving
homeless people with chronic illnesses. The project began November 2002
with a six-month pilot run, generously supported by the Michael Reese
Health Trust, and will be fully functional in April 2003. Between 250
- 300 chronically medically ill homeless individuals will be served during
the project's three-year period. It is projected that approximately 40%
of those individuals will be HIV-positive.
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Access HIV health, housing, and legal services. 
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Learn about U.S. guidelines for HIV treatments on the AIDSInfo website.
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CHHP Partners
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
AIDSCARE
Chicago Christian Industrial League
Chicago Department of Public Health
Chicago House
Cook County Bureau of Health Services
Deborah's Place
Featherfist
Franciscan Outreach Association
Housing Opportunities for Women
Interfaith House
Michael Reese Health Trust
Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center
Open Hand/Community Response
VA Great Lakes Health Care System
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