December 15, 2016
by Shyronn Jones, PWN, PWN-USA Georgia Strategic Communications Action Team Rep
Georgia’s largest facilitator of emergency and transitional housing for people living with HIV/AIDS Advisory Committee’ held an HIV Housing Community Feedback Forum on December 13, 2016. The Living Room serves as Atlanta’s centralized intake, housing information and referral agency. They assist over 1,500 individuals each year and make a significant impression in many lives.
The event fostered an environment to hear from former/current Living Room clients and housing service providers. Many of the concerns shared on seeking and coordinating housing through the Living Room and other housing organizations was in-house and at the mercy of the City of Atlanta and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
I attended, as well as Spencer Burton-Webb, City of Atlanta Lead Management Analyst/Director of HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS), Positive Impact Health Centers staff, and a multitude of Living Room staff, clients and community members. The Living Room Advocacy Committee will process the information into key points and use it to advocate for improved housing access.
As a woman living with HIV who personally experienced homelessness and had professionally worked as a housing specialist and case manager technician for persons diagnosed with chronic mental health diagnosis and persons living with HIV/AIDS in Albany, New York. I have a lot of thoughts, feelings and opinions on solutions to end homelessness among people living with HIV. My experiences have helped shape my views, and my views deserve to be heard.
At this feedback forum I brought to the attention case study examples of non-profit housing organizations like CARES, Inc in Albany, New York who owns residential properties in addition to their outsourcing of leases to private landlords to provide stable housing to people living with HIV/AIDS. I also spoke about my housing intake at the Living Room. I recommended improvements with the coordination of required HIV status documentation. I suggested they directly send medical forms to providers, instead of physically giving forms to applicants.
I gave my account of how I immediately took the (3)three HIV verification forms given to me during my intake directly to my doctors office and gave them to my doctor’s nurse. I called my doctor’s nurse every 3 days and physically went to my doctor’s office every week to check on the status of the completion of the forms. It took three weeks for 2 of the 3 forms to be completed. One of the forms was discarded by my doctors’ nurse because, she thought it was for social security. She told me they don’t complete forms for social security. I contacted Living Room to resend the form she discarded and re-explained to my doctor’s nurse the forms are required for my housing application. It took over a month for my medical verification forms to be completed and my application for permanent housing to be submitted.
There are intricate systems of networks that can be guided along the pipeline. It’s possible to construct, to allow the passage of a continuum of care to deliver the services and reap the outcomes that human service providers’ mission statements states.
For More Information on The LIVING ROOM ADVISORY COMMITTEE Contact:
Emily Halden Brown
Living Room Chair of Advocacy Committee
Member of the Board of Directors
Email: [email protected]
Cell: (734) 635-2483
Address: 341 Ponce de Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA, 30308
Phone number: 404.616.5743
Appointment Line: 404.382.8991
Fax number: 404.616.8605
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: livingroomatl.org