The Bay Area Reporter - Friday, May 7, 1999
Mike Salinas

"This report confirms what we've being saying all along about the city's gross mismanagement of L.A.'s AIDS housing program," said Michael Weinstein, president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). But Weinstein and other activists who were outraged at the confirmation of their fears also took some comfort in knowing the city will now have to change policies if it is to remain in compliance with federal guidelines.

AHF and homeless activists held a news conference to draw attention to Tuttle's report April 30, and to point out they have long complained about the situation it outlines û usually to hostile receptions from Mayor Richard Riordan and his AIDS office staff.

"Rather than look seriously at our allegations and interpretations of earlier financial reports, city officials instead chose to 'shoot the messenger' by attacking or ignoring us," Weinstein said.

Meanwhile, he said, "An untold number or Angelenos with AIDS lived and died on the streets û as money to house them went unspent."

A preliminary report from an AIDS housing study commissioned by the city of Los Angeles revealed in July 1998 that two-thirds of local PWAs reported homelessness. In January 1999, without fanfare, the city released the final copy of the study, with the statistics unchanged. Local activists have held two earlier news conferences at the mayor's office to protest HOPWA funds going unspent while PWAs were homeless, and held a press conference in September, as well as a 34-hour vigil for homeless people with HIV in October, at Riordan's official mayoral residence. In both instances they pointed out the irony that homelessness continues to be a concern for PWAs, but Riordan lives elsewhere and the mayoral residence is vacant.

At the October vigil, activists pointed out the potential fatal effect of homelessness on people who depend on complex prescription drug schedules, but who can't maintain life-saving treatment while homeless.

At that time, Los Angeles responded by estimating that "only" between $5.5 million and $6.8 million AIDS housing dollars went unspent.

Tuttle's report confirmed the figure is at least $17 million. It also concluded, in his words:

* Federal HOPWA program funds administered by the city for county residents have not been committed or used timely;

* Approximately $17 million of the current and prior years funding has only recently been programmed;

* Significant unspent funds remaining in contracts from program years as early as 1994;

* There is inadequate long-term program planning;

* The recent study did not quantify the unmet needs of the entire affected community;

* The LAHD [L.A. Housing Department] needs to break the cycle of being a year or two behind the funding cycle and plan proactively for the future;

* [There are] inadequate goals or measures to effectively gauge performance, and no plan to continually identify and address the primary needs of the affected community and measure results of the program;

* [There is] no comprehensive outreach program; and

* HOPWA brochures are outdated and only available in English.

He had several suggestions for improving the situation:

* Evaluate the needs of HIV/AIDS patients countywide and prioritize the areas where HOPWA program funds are most needed;

* Quantify the amount of unspent HOPWA funds from current and prior year grants;

* Develop a strategic plan to match unspent available funds to prioritized needs;

* Work to speed up the process of identifying providers and reprogramming moneys to ensure needs are met, including increasing outreach efforts; and

* Provide adequate management oversight of the program, including the addition or reassignment of senior level staff.

Cesar Portillo, AHF's government affairs director, has an additional suggestion. "We've demanded an emergency plan of action since October," he said. "Since the housing bureaucrats are still denying serious problems with HOPWA, we are now also demanding that the mayor fire the bureaucrats responsible or turn the program over to the county."

"I truly hope that this scathing report finally serves as catalyst for the long-overdue overhaul of the city's handling of HOPWA," Weinstein said, "but I won't put away my protest signs just yet."
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