Ending HIV stigma and ensuring the availability of essential supportive services like housing, nutrition, and employment helps ensure that those who are HIV-negative remain negative and those who are HIV-positive not only get tested, diagnosed, and into care early, but stay in care and remain healthy.

Since its founding, Housing Works has been adamant that ensuring essential support services for all—whether HIV-positive or HIV-negative—will be a linchpin in achieving and maintaining an AIDS-FREE future.

Essential Support Services: Our Strategies

• Decriminalize syringe possession.

• Effectively address hunger and meet other subsistence needs, which is crucial to engaging and keeping the most vulnerable in care.

• Address other structural drivers of the HIV pandemic, such as the criminalization of the non violent drug violations and adult consensual sex work, as well as the burden of incarceration and entanglement with the correctional system for young menn.

• For those who do become incarcerated, ensure that every person with HIV exiting the correctional system is linked to HIV health care and services in the community prior to release.

OTHER ESSENTIAL SUPPORT SERVICES IN NY CITY & NY STATE:

• TRANSGENDER SERVICES

• ACCESS TO CONDOMS

• ENHANCEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

• SEXUAL HEALTH AWARENESS AND EDUCATION FOR YOUTH

• DRUG USER INTERVENTIONS