ahc.org
Working to create new units of housing and to increase access to housing with an appropriate level of supportive services is at the heart of AHC's mission. Whether through the actual construction of units or the preservation of services and subsidies, AHC has helped to create more than 1,200 units of housing for people living with HIV/AIDS in the New England area.
AHC has provided all levels of Technical Assistance (TA) in the creation and rehab of housing units including:
- assistance with concept planning and establishing feasibility;
- translating program needs into building design requirements;
- creation and coordination of the design development team;
- identification and solicitation of financing and funding;
- ongoing support through the construction and operational phases;
- development of programmatic design, operating budgets and staffing plans.
Our goal is to support the creation of new units of housing to meet the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS -- especially projects that serve the chronically homeless and aim to successfully house people with multiple needs including mental health, substance use, and those recently released from correctional facilities.
Visit this page for questions to consider before developing a new housing program. (Opens in new window.)
AHC has helped create all types of supportive housing including congregate and single room occupancy units (SROs) and independent apartments. We have worked to create permanent housing units as well as transitional settings. All of the housing we work on considers the desired target population in the design and construction of the unit.
In recent months, AHC has worked with the City of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development in utilizing some of its HOPWA funds for the creation of AIDS housing units.
A new target population is individuals living in permanent supportive housing settings but, due to improved health and stabilization of their lives, are no longer in need of intensive services. While these people would prefer to move on to more independent settings, their "permanent" housing status makes it difficult.
AHC developed a concept of "graduation housing" where these individuals would be screened and given priority for subsidized housing in various settings. To date, five units of graduation housing have been created and leased up at the Talbot-Bernard Homes located in Boston's Codman Square area. Fifteen units of graduation housing will also be located at the Boston Housing Authority's Cathedral Project in the South End.
In both of these cases, AHC worked with the AIDS Action Committee, which is serving as the screening and referral agent, as well the DND - one of the funders - and the respective developers and property managers of the housing units. We hope to continue to expand upon this idea.
Another target population in great need of increased access to housing are those individuals exiting the prison system. AHC is exploring the concept of creating a program to address this population's housing needs and develop a program to do so.
AHC was also recently involved in the total rehab of Victory House, a 24-bed housing program owned and operated by Victory Programs, Inc. AHC was a part of each step of this project, from obtaining funding to hiring an architect and serving as the clerk of the works for much of the time.