Last month, the City of Atlanta Government FY 2019 budget, which was unanimously approved by the Atlanta City Council, earmarked $100,000 in HIV program resources to begin tackling the city’s HIV/AIDS crisis. This is a major milestone and victory, considering that the function of public health and HIV prevention and treatment are traditionally left to federal, state and county governments. Atlanta joins other major cities such as San Francisco, New York City, and Philadelphia who budget resources towards ending the epidemic. This$100k allocation represents a larger investment and commitment to end the epidemic.

 

Meeting with Mayor Bottoms, she expressed the commitment of her administration in addressing HIV and HIV-related issues as a top priority, including HIV housing issues. In helping to alleviate ongoing HIV housing issues, City Council’s Community Development/Human Services committee approved aresolution that authorizes this year’s HOPWA funding and included new language that allows the contracting processes to begin immediately, which should at least partially alleviate historical lag times that cause HOPWA-funded agencies problems, and people seeking housing even worse problems.

 

These are important first steps towards ending HIV in Atlanta and statewide. Advocates will continue to engage the mayor and city council around these issues and look forward to ongoing partnership.