Grant: Operating Grant - HIV/AIDS CBR Program - General

Single room accommodations (SRA) housing represents the 'housing of last resort' for socio-economically marginalized populations, and in particular PWUD living with or at risk of HIV. Residence in privately-owned SRA housing has previously been linked to increases in HIV risk behaviors. However, over the past decade, governments have increased investment in SRA housing by converting buildings into social housing to respond to health crises experienced by unstably housed persons (e.g., PWUD). Low-income housing stock available to PWUD now includes SRA encompassing diverse operating models (e.g., abstinence-based, harm reduction) and varying conditions (e.g., newly-renovated, slums), which have significant implications for HIV prevention and treatment. Perhaps nowhere is this issue more pressing than in Vancouver, British Columbia's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood, which is home to approximately 3,000 SRA housing units and overlapping HIV/AIDS and drug use epidemics. In response to concerns of peer-driven organizations regarding potential influences of evolving SRA housing environments on HIV prevention and treatment, we propose to build a novel community-based participatory research study upon an existing program of ethno-spatial epidemiological research to explore the influence of social, structural, and physical conditions in SRA housing on HIV prevention and treatment among PWUD. The project team is a collaborative partnership between the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Pivot Legal Society, and peer-driven organizations in the Downtown Eastside. Affected community members have contributed to the development of this project and have joined our project team as Knowledge Users. The results of the study will be used to develop recommendations for action by policy makers and health service providers to address housing conditions that drive adverse HIV-related outcomes, and inform community advocacy and socio-legal strategies to catalyze improvements in housing.