Jun 20, 2024
Assemblymember Harry Bronson and Assemblymember Demond Meeks have secured $750,000 in state funding to expand housing assistance programs for low-income individuals living with HIV in the nine-county Finger Lakes Region (Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, Livingston, Orleans, Seneca, Yates, Schuyler, Steuben, and Genesee counties).
Studies have shown that without safe, stable housing, people are unlikely to maintain their medication regimens. Secure housing is often the first step to regaining stability and reclaiming one’s health.
People who are taking their HIV medications regularly can reduce the amount of virus in their body to a very low level, which keeps the immune system working properly and prevents illness. In fact, it can get so low that a test can’t detect it, which is called an “undetectable viral load.” People who maintain an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV through sex or sharing syringes. Therefore, HIV treatment is also HIV prevention.
Jason Barnecut-Kearns, President and CEO of Trillium Health said, "We are extremely grateful to Assemblymember Harry Bronson and Assemblymember Demond Meeks for securing this funding. It will help hundreds of people in Rochester and the Finger Lakes who are low-income individuals who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. It will also help to prevent the spread of HIV and it will improve the overall health of our community. Trillium Health is very thankful to receive the funding, and we look forward to the day when we can truly End the HIV Epidemic."