New York, NY (January 20, 2015) – Harlem United hails Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s 2015 Opportunity Agenda, announced Sunday. The Anti-Poverty Opportunity Agenda, a 10-point plan to combat poverty and fight inequality, will include more than $486 million in new funding for affordable and supportive housing as well as homeless services, including $183 million and 5,000 new units of supportive housing for people in New York State with various chronic conditions, including HIV.
Stable, affordable housing is demonstrated to be a critical indicator of health for people living with HIV and AIDS. “We’re thrilled that the Governor is making strategic investments in interventions with impact, like supportive housing,” said Jacquelyn Kilmer, Chief Executive Officer of Harlem United. “We see firsthand that housing combined with patient-centered care can reduce hospitalizations and improve individual health. The Governor’s attention to this will go a long way toward leveling the playing field for those without traditional access to healthcare and housing.”
Opportunity Agenda aligns with the Governor’s Bending the Curve initiative, a plan to end AIDS in New York State by 2020, announced last June. As a member of the Governor’s Task Force, Harlem United endorsed several recommendations that propose to create and finance housing for people living with HIV and those most at risk of infection, employment opportunities and food security initiatives. The Task Force is delivering their final blueprint to the Governor this month. “Poverty fuels the HIV epidemic in New York State,” said Kilmer. “The Bending the Curve plan and the Opportunity Agenda go hand-in-hand to eradicate HIV and poverty.”
About Harlem United
Founded in 1988 to address the HIV epidemic, Harlem United is now a full-service community healthcare center that provides comprehensive disease prevention, supportive housing, and quality healthcare services for its clients – regardless of race, socio-economic status or sexual orientation. These services benefit people with a multiplicity of chronic illnesses, many of whom also face homelessness, mental illness, substance and alcohol use, and/or extreme poverty.
