Ray Willis, the local head of HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development), recently presented Chicago House with a check for the organization’s new project of scattered-site housing. Chicago House was one of 10 agencies in the nation to be given a new HOPWA SPNS (Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS Special Project of National Significance) grant. The amount of the grant is slightly over $1.2 million.
The grant will allow the agency to provide housing for an additional 18 people with HIV/AIDS. The units will be spread throughout Chicago, and the residents of these apartments will be working with the organization’s employment program to re-enter the workforce and gradually reduce the amount they need for the rental subsidies, allowing Chicago House to eventually pass the subsidy on to another person in need.
Chicago House has also received a $75,000 grant from the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago’s Venture Investment Fund Program to fund the Increase Individual Income and Independence (I-Four) Employment Program. One of only 29 projects selected from nearly 120 applications, the program helps men and women living with HIV and AIDS make the transition from illness and dependency to better health and self-sufficiency through productive employment.
For more information about the I-Four Program, visit www.chicagohouse.org or phone 773-248-5200, ext. 310.