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Missouri AIDS Task Force

DOORWAYS' Advocacy Program deepens focus and broadens efforts that the organization has always undertaken on behalf of people living with HIV/AIDS. Over a 20-year history, advocacy efforts to improve services on behalf of clients, as well as the social and cultural climate in which those services are delivered, have been pursued at the local, state and national level.

The overall goal of DOORWAYS' Advocacy Program is to educate lawmakers and other key decision-makers about issues that impact the health and well-being of individuals with HIV/AIDS.

History

DOORWAYS’ leadership initiated and implemented the original collaborative agreement binding all St. Louis AIDS service organizations in a commitment to provide comprehensive serivces for all clients in the community; a commitment that remains in effect to this day.

DOORWAYS has become a nationally-recognized leader in the prevention of homelessness through HIV/AIDS housing, and has twice been the recipient of a Best Practice Award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). DOORWAYS' President, Lynne M. Cooper, D. Min., is a former Board member for the National AIDS Housing Coalition, and served two terms on President Clinton's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS in Washington.

DOORWAYS' main focus for the 2008 legislative session will be to increase the Missouri Housing Trust Fund, and thus alleviate the burden of homelessness on the hundreds of individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS who, because of inadequate funding resources, are trapped on a waiting list for housing.

Other priorities include the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Medicaid funding, and Missouri AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). Check back frequently for issue updates, or join our e-action alert network.

Missouri Housing Trust Fund

Over the past eight years Doorways has received substantial funding from the Missouri Housing Trust Fund (MHTF). This vital program has provided financial resources for the Own Home Program which assists individuals and families in finding and maintaining their own housing through a variety of specialized initiatives. The program provides support for over 700 households in fifteen St. Louis Region counties. In 2006, for the first time in DOORWAYS' history, a waiting list was created in the Own Home program. There are over 220 households on the list, many of which are experiencing homelessness and have children.

DOORWAYS Supportive Housing Facility (DSHF) also benefits from the MHTF program. DSHF provides 36 private rooms and comprehensive services for residents whose HIV related illnesses require 24-hour nursing, medication, and nutrition care. This facility is the only one of its kind in the region and one of only a few in the nation. Despite the many challenges faced by residents, over 70% become well enough to move to independent housing.

MHTF funding:

• provides grants and loans to organizations that provide housing assistance for very low-income families and the homeless in Missouri
• supports programs that prevent families from becoming homeless
• provides operating support for homeless shelters and transitional housing
• provides home repairs and accessibility improvements for low-income homeowners and rental assistance for low-income families
• provides housing-related services for low-income families
• supports the development of affordable housing

Since 1994, a $3 fee has been collected on real estate transactions by each recorder of deeds in Missouri and deposited into the Missouri Housing Trust Fund. Increasing this fee to could help additional Missourians to stay in their homes or to find shelter in times of need. An increase would also help DOORWAYS address the growing waiting list in the Own Home Program.

We need your help! Sign up now for DOORWAYS Action Alert Network. You will be a part of a grassroots effort to educate lawmakers about the importance of increasing the Trust Fund.

Join DOORWAYS Advocacy Network

Missouri Association for Social Welfare - A rich resource for learning more about affordable and accessible housing in Missouri.

Get in touch with your State Representative

AIDS Foundation of Chicago - An excellent site with lots of information on national and regional advocacy and policy priorities.