There are five types of housing:

1. Transitional Housing – some of these programs are only for persons with HIV.
2. HIV Residential Programs – this is permanent housing for persons living with HIV.
3. Public Housing – they provide apartments in buildings called "developments." They also provide help with rent (called "Section 8").
4. HIV Scattered-Site Programs – they provide rental assistance subsidies and case management.
5. Private Rental Market – an apartment you find through the newspapers where you pay full rent.

Over the next few pages we will explain each type of housing for you. There is a list of contacts for each type of program. Call the programs you are interested in to get more information and an application!

When you talk to housing programs, you will hear the term "housing eligibility." Each housing program is funded to serve persons in a particular housing situation. For example, some scattered-site programs can only serve persons who are homeless (which means in a shelter or in a transitional program).

The housing assistance you decide to accept may limit what is available to you in the future. For example, if you move into a residential program, you may not be able to move to some scattered-site programs in the future because you are considered permanently housed. Make sure to ask.

This chart shows how choosing one housing program may close doors on other housing in your future. Know your options.

As you can see, once you move into a scattered-site program, residential program, private rental, or public housing, you are considered permanently housed. That means that most of the time you are not eligible for other permanent housing programs.