Supportive Living Program: Providing A Stable Foundation for Adults Living with HIV/AIDS
David* moved into Chicago House’s Supportive Living Program (SLP) in 2019. In addition to holding a full-time job, David engaged fully with the program’s wraparound support services and hoped to find his own apartment. When David’s hours were reduced due to COVID-19, he reported feeling hopeless and anxious about not being able to meet his housing goals but continued to actively engage with the support available to him through SLP.
The Supportive Living Program first opened its doors in 1987, housing individuals living with HIV/AIDS who required assistance with daily tasks. Residents had access to certified nursing assistants sixteen hours a day and an overnight manager after hours. Chicago House connected residents to food, clothing, medical care, housekeeping, transportation, psychological and pastoral counseling, and case management services.
Today, SLP provides permanent housing and 24-hour access to care for unaccompanied adults living with HIV who are currently homeless or have a documented history of chronic homelessness. SLP connects residents to HIV medical case managers who can ensure that they remain engaged in adequate medical care and maintain an undetectable viral load with the help of antiretroviral therapy (ART). SLP also provides life and financial skills training, mental health and substance use support, connection to food pantries, and group support, all with the goal of empowering residents to remain healthy and self-sufficient.
Since the housing provided by SLP is permanent, residents can stay indefinitely as long as they pay rent, keep their apartments clean, and provide and prepare their own food. The current longest-term resident has called SLP home for four years; she is also the oldest resident, and until recently, was the sole female tenant.
“Lots of participants relocate to SLP from interim shelters or transitional housing,” explains Kim Richards, SLP Program Manager. “A small percentage come from emergency shelters, but most enter SLP from staying with friends and family during COVID-19.” Individuals also get connected to SLP through referrals from other social service organizations or by being matched through HMIS (Homeless Management Information System). A few have found Chicago House through their own research.
The program reserves a designated number of beds for participants who are placed with SLP through the Coordinated Entry System (CES), a government-funded housing program for individuals who are chronically homeless and living with a disability. Through word of mouth, folks hear that they might be able to get their own apartment, but the path to being housed is not easy. “Transient folks who are experiencing homelessness often lose, misplace, or have their phones shut off and fall out of contact with their referring agency,” Richards says. “It’s current CES policy that after ten days with no contact, they must move on to the next applicant on the list. This period used to be 40 days but has been abbreviated due to high demand. I believe this needs to be longer.”
SLP residents are at high risk of multiple harms in addition to living with HIV, including mental illness, sex work, and substance use, all of which compound the difficulty of managing and treating an HIV diagnosis. Though most residents have some income, many are underemployed and some are unemployed. Richards likes to refer folks to temp agencies as a soft re-entry to full-time work, especially for individuals who don’t fit the criteria to work with Chicago House’s Employment Services Program. She can even work with agencies for specialized positions for individuals with vocational or technical training—a resident recently found a position as a dental assistant through one such agency.
“It can be disorienting to go from long-term employment to being laid off during COVID, living with the stress of isolation, mask-wearing, and fear of illness or death, and then transitioning back to working full-time amidst uneven and shifting safety guidelines,” Richards emphasizes. “The pandemic has just exacerbated all of these other barriers and harms.”
Despite the challenges magnified by COVID-19, SLP clients still find success and self-sufficiency with the support of staff and fellow residents. In June 2020, David successfully moved into his own apartment; when the statewide shelter-in-place mandate ended a month later, he accepted a management position at his place of employment. David reached out to SLP staff from his new apartment to share his successes and to thank them for working with him to meet his goals. With stable housing as the foundation, the residents of SLP find a community that uplifts all aspects of their lives during their time in the building and beyond.
*name changed for anonymity