By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent
Not long ago, a positive HIV test meant an imminent death sentence. That is no longer the case.
Today, instead of dying from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, the disease known as AIDS, nearly half the people who might have died two decades ago now live and cope with the disease for longer periods of time.
In September, AIDS Housing of Washington (AHW), opened their newest housing project, the Shirley Bridge Bungalows, in West Seattle. The six cottage-style apartments are aesthetic, friendly and suitable to house both individuals and families. The Lifelong AIDS Alliance, the local umbrella organization for AIDS services, let those who were “next up” on the waiting list move into their new homes October 1.
“It’s so homelike,” said Betsy Lieberman, founder and executive director of AHW. “It’s just like housing where you and I live, but a person with AIDS can get help with daily living needs and a range of other community services.”
Since 1988, AHW has dedicated itself to providing housing for people living with AIDS and their families.
Lieberman has worked tirelessly in obtaining housing for people with AIDS. That work has spread to the community as well.
City People’s Mercantile donated landscaping and plants while West Seattle artist Lezlie Jane designed the arch in front of the complex. The Jewish community also helped.
Said Lieberman, “A lot of people in the Jewish community gave money and gave very generously because of their connection to Shirley.”
Shirley Bridge was a founding co-chair of the Women’s Endowment Foundation and is still active in Seattle’s Jewish community. She has long been committed to causes throughout the area, including civil rights and, appropriately, people living with AIDS.
Lending her support to the bungalows was a huge boon to the project. The lot where AHW built the bungalows sat vacant for almost 90 years. AHW negotiated a 50-year lease with the City of Seattle that costs them one dollar a year.
“The need today, in 2002, for subsidized housing units is tremendous,” Lieberman said. “These are folks who have been living with AIDS for 15–25 years and who have spent all of their resources. They need housing. There’s also a huge increase in young adults and people who are mentally ill or in poverty with AIDS.”
Compared to the inevitable death sentences common 20 years ago, AIDS has become increasingly survivable. However, life is far from easy, and survival depends on routine medication, clinical and social support, and a place to call home. That can be difficult, especially if a patient is unable to work and resources tighten year after year.
“AIDS housing in this community is limited to people who meet the Social Security disability criteria,” Lieberman said. “The majority of people are on Social Security or disability and are making about $600 a month. They have to be low-income and disabled. People with AIDS need to have that documented by a physician.”
In other words, finding this type of housing can be difficult.
AHW has completed three other housing developments since its inception. The Bailey-Boushay House is a 35-bed residential skilled-nursing facility and adult day-health center operated by the Virginia Mason Medical Center.
AHW also built the Lyon Building, a 64-unit facility with on-site support services for the formerly homeless living with AIDS who are also experiencing one or more other conditions such as mental illness or substance addiction.
In addition to these dedicated facilities, AHW partners with the King County Housing Authority and the Lifelong AIDS Alliance to set aside condominiums and apartments in planned and existing housing projects for individuals and families living with AIDS.
For her work in creating the Baily-Boushay House, which was the first facility of its kind in the country for AIDS patients, and for founding AHW, Lieberman was honored in 2001. She and 19 other leaders nationwide were cited through the Ford Foundation’s inaugural Leadership for a Changing World program. The former mayor of the City of Seattle, Norm Rice, nominated Lieberman.
But Lieberman does not seem to be sitting back and savoring the victories. Instead, she is gearing up for a couple of projects that are currently in the planning stages.
“Up until the Shirley Bridge Bungalows there hasn’t been much housing for families,” said Lieberman. “We have two projects we are working with right now with the Housing Resources Group. Out of 50 units they are building, 22 will be set a side for the disabled. Also, in another project with the Housing Resources Group located at the I-90 lid there will be 16 townhouses with four or five set aside for families with AIDS.”
For help or information on AIDS or AIDS-related services of any kind you can contact the Lifelong AIDS Alliance main number at 206-329-6923.