By rachel dares
More than 56,000 people are living with HIV and AIDS in Canada. Eleven Canadians are newly infected with HIV every day. An estimated 17,000 more across the country are infected but still don’t know it.
Of the 3,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Ottawa, a lucky few have found a home at Bruce House, the only organization in Ottawa-Carleton that is providing supportive housing to men and women living with the disease, says Jay Koornstra, the executive director of Bruce House.
During the Canadian AIDS Awareness Week, which ended Dec. 1, Bruce House volunteers were out in the community selling red ribbons to raise money for their two housing services: an apartment program and a transitional house, which offer clients different levels of care.
“Housing is definitely an HIV support service because without housing, there is absolutely no way that someone can manage their disease,” says Koornstra. “It is an absolutely vital piece of care that is required for anyone living with any kind of terminal disease.”
The two programs allow people with HIV/AIDS to bypass the threat of stigma and discrimination when searching for housing. Unfortunately, the disease still hinders people from finding housing and employment, says Koornstra.
The apartment program offered by Bruce House provides apartments to about 37 people at scattered locations throughout Ottawa, though the bulk are located in Centretown, says Koornstra. The program focuses on moving people who live on the streets or who are at risk of losing their homes into permanent and safe accommodations.
“We’re really in there as community neighbours,” says Koornstra. “Our clients, although requiring some additional help, are fully integrated within the neighbourhood.”
Bruce House leases units from not-for-profit providers such as the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, a local social housing provider.
Rent is determined based on the client’s income, and the majority of clients pay for it using a shelter allowance provided by the provincial government.
Though the program is for people living with HIV/AIDS who are healthy enough to live independently, Bruce House does offer them various services such as financial management, nutritional counselling and treatment information.
There are currently 160 people on the waiting list for the apartment program, but priority is often given to people who have an urgent need for housing.
“That decision is not made easily at times because there are so many people on the waiting list,” says Koornstra.
The actual Bruce House building, a transitional house located in Westboro, offers a temporary home for seven people living with advanced progression of HIV/AIDS and who require 24-hour care and support.
The house is staffed day and night on rotation by one paid employee at a time.
This person is usually assisted by two volunteers during the day. Services provided to the clients include everyday needs such as cooking and cleaning as well as counselling, life skills training and palliation, says Koornstra.
An Ottawa resident who is living with HIV and spoke on condition that she not be named, says she only wishes there were more organizations offering similar programs in Ottawa.
“A person living with HIV or AIDS can’t possibly take proper care of their health without first having access to housing,” she says. “I can’t imagine dealing with the daily stresses and complications that come with the disease, and at the same time try to get by on the streets. It just doesn’t seem fair.”
Bruce House has a staff of 10 full-time and six part-time employees, but a lot of its work is based on the support of its 70 active volunteers, says Koornstra.
George Wilkes, a Gatineau resident who has volunteered for Bruce House since 1991, says the work they do is “splendid.”
He started out by doing odd jobs around the house such as cleaning the bathrooms and today he does the weekly grocery shopping. He says he chose to get involved after losing a friend to AIDS.
The staff at the house are excellent and the clients have confidence in the care they are receiving, he says.
The main goals of the transition house are to help clients experience the best quality of life possible and to get their health to a point where they can live independently, either within the apartment program or elsewhere, says Koornstra.
Last year, the transition house got a makeover including a full renovation and the addition of two bedrooms.
After Bruce House fundraised more than $100,000, several design firms worked their way through the house replacing old appliances and redecorating from top to bottom.
Before the renovation project, the house had been kept a secret from the public because of the potential for physical and verbal abuse towards people with the disease, says Richard Naster, the team leader for the transition house. Going public meant acknowledging that times have changed, he says.
“The degree of separation between those who are HIV negative and those who are HIV positive is getting smaller,” says Naster. People are realizing that today HIV/AIDS can affect any demographic in society, he says.
Because there are so few beds available in the house, vacancies are usually filled by a person who requires the services immediately when a space becomes available, says Koornstra. Residents stay in the house for about a year and a half on average.
“When you have a limited amount of services you can provide, quite frequently your resources only permit you to take care of the people most in need,” says Koornstra. “It’s really a sad statement to make, but that’s the reality of any social service operation.”
Bruce House must raise $250,000 every year through donations and fundraising events. Making up more than 40 per cent of the organization’s budget, this is an “incredibly difficult” target to reach, says Koornstra. Without this money, the organization would be forced to cut programs. Lack of funding already resulted in staff cuts last year.
A federal government program on homelessness, called the Supporting Community Partnerships Initiative, provided Bruce House with $66,000 per year.
Thanks to this funding, the organization was able to hire another full-time support worker who helps Bruce House clients retain their housing. The eviction rate in the past few years has been negligible as a result, says Koornstra.
However, this summer the Conservative government failed to renew the funding agreement, which expires in March 2007, says Koornstra. He says he is wondering how Bruce House is going to cope with the reduced funds. Cuts to the homelessness initiative in Ottawa alone totalled $1 million. Toronto was hit the hardest with a near $6-million cut.
“Homelessness is not acceptable and it’s certainly not acceptable for somebody who is living with a terminal illness,” says Koornstra.
“It’s absolutely essential that our federal government recognize that they have a role and responsibility to play in helping people with housing.”
Together, the municipal and provincial governments provide close to $200,000 per year in funding to Bruce House, or 32 per cent of its annual budget.
Last week, Bruce House members were involved in several activities for AIDS Awareness Week. Naster was a panel member at a community forum held Nov. 30, where he discussed his experiences at the AIDS Conference held this summer in Toronto.
Naster says he was most struck by the work people are doing in countries far less privileged than Canada, referring to areas in South-East Asia and Africa.
The medication exists to prolong the life of people with the disease, but if you don’t have the money, you’re not in the game, he says. “I understand how and why that happens and it still pisses me off.”
But Naster says he’s still thrilled to be doing what he can to help out in Ottawa.
“You think you’re going to make a choice to do this work. But in the end you realize that the work has chosen you.”