Petrelis Files

SF AIDS & Low-Income Housing Subsidies to be Cut in July

There was no cost-of-living-adjustment in Social Security benefits for 2016 and today I received notification from Catholic Charities of a impending cut in rental assistance for low-income folks including people with HIV:

"We regret to inform you that effective July 1, 2016 your monthly subsidy assistance will be decreased as follows:

"If you receive a monthly subsidy of $275 per month, it will be decreased to $250. If you receive a subsidy of $375 per month, it will be decreased to $350."

Have I told you lately about the almost half-million dollars paid to AIDS executive Lorri Jean of the LA LGBT Community Center last year, the $330,000 salary to SF AIDS Foundation director Neil Giuliano, all the the other HIV executives with quite robust pay packaged over $200,000 and the latest edition of the AIDS LifeCycle?

Never have I read about not enough money to pay AIDS service bosses, but I sure have a lot of letters and clippings about direct care and ancillary programs, like housing stability and retention of it.

Millions of bucks will pour in to the LA gay center and the AIDS foundation from their AIDS LifeCycle, thanks to the goodness of the riders and their donors.

There is something wrong with (not) fully meeting the basic needs of folks living with AIDS, while the AIDS Inc money-making apparatus rolls on and in the process sucks up all the news and social media oxygen.

I've called Catholic Charities seeking info why the cuts are coming, who the funding source is and for how long this subsidy reduction will be in effect. Stay tuned!