HASA for All
The HASA for All Act, introduced In February 2008 by City Council member Annabel Palma, would extend HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) benefits, including enhanced rental assistance and other life-saving services, to all poor New Yorkers living with HIV.
Currently, only people with an AIDS diagnosis (a T-cell count of 200 or lower or two opportunistic infections) are eligible for those benefits. That distinction has prompted some people to let themselves get sick in order to qualify for HASA benefits. Advocates estimate the HASA for All Act would help some 7,000 people receive full HASA assistance.
Recent studies have shown that housing is a critical tool for both HIV prevention and health care. That’s why it came as a shock when Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a former housing advocate, opposed the HASA for All Act on the grounds that “if we house people with AIDS, we’ll have to house people with other diseases.”
Despite Quinn’s opposition, Housing Works and other advocates are working with other members of City Council to find funding for a HASA for All demonstration research project, to prove that HASA for All is both cost-effective and will prove health outcomes.
What Can You Do?
- Support our advocacy work by becoming a Housing Works member
- Subscribe to our AIDS Issues Update e-newsletter to stay current on the issues and receive action alerts
