'HIV Housing = Life,' Say D.C. Activists

Chanting through a loudspeaker and carrying signs reading “HIV Housing = Life,” several local organizations marked World AIDS Day in an unlikely spot: in front of the D.C. field office for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Organized by D.C. Fights Back, an HIV and AIDS advocacy group, activists set up four tents in front of the HUD office Monday, protesting the current wait for subsidized housing for people living with HIV and AIDS. Protesters said the 278 people diagnosed with HIV and AIDS on the list wait up to two years for a slot in the program, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, also known as HOPWA.