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More than 200 AIDS-affected households that stood to lose critical assistance on Sept. 1 have been given a reprieve, thanks to a decision by the Fort Worth City Council. The council's Aug. 23 vote means low-income HIV/AIDS patients in Tarrant, Parker, Johnson, and Hood counties will continue to receive help following the Aug. 31 closure of AIDS Resources of Rural Texas (ARRT).
This summer, Parker County-based ARRT announced it would close by summer end after 18 years of assisting HIV/AIDS patients in 22 counties. Its services included short- and long-term rental assistance funded by a federal grant to Fort Worth. With the City Council vote, the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program will now be administered by the AIDS Outreach Center (AOC) under a new, expanded contract.
We plan to serve 150 households with short-term rent, utilities, and mortgage assistance, said AOC Associate Executive Director Shannon Hilgart. We will also be able to assist for a longer period to ensure these households are no longer at risk of homelessness. Another 58 households will receive long-term housing aid, she said.
ARRTs work and the $136,763 grant that goes with it are welcomed by officials of AOC, which saw its Ryan White CARE Act allocation cut by $286,000 this year. AOC has scaled back its operations, shuttering its offices in Arlington and northeast Tarrant County, and cutting its general budget by 12 percent. Despite the financial crunch, AOC has provided counseling, food assistance and case management to 1,836 unduplicated clients during the last 12 months. It also has tested 1,600 people for syphilis and HIV and conducted education outreach to more than 5,000.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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