Housing, HIV and Health Research
The OHTN is an active partner in
Positive Spaces, Healthy Places, the first longitudinal community-based research initiative in Canada to examine housing and health in the context of HIV. Our partners in the study include:
- AIDS Thunder Bay
- AIDS Niagara
- Bruce House (Ottawa)
- Fife House (Toronto)
- Ontario AIDS Network
- Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy
- Former Community-Linked Evaluation AIDS Resource (CLEAR)
- McMaster University; School of Social Work
- York University
The study conducted over 600 baseline interviews with people with HIV across Ontario and found that almost half of people in Ontario living with HIV have problems with housing and that:
- 75% had incomes of less than $1,500 a month
- 4 out of 10 found it difficult to pay their rent
- 1 out of 3 was at risk of losing housing
- one-third were worried about being forced out of their homes
- one-quarter did not feel they belong in their neighbourhoods
- 1 out of 5 people surveyed had moved in the last year: 9% had moved once, 7% had moved twice and 5% had moved three or more times.
Follow up interviews are being conducted at regular intervals over a three year period.
For more information on this study, visit the Positive Spaces, Healthy Places website.