State’s AIDS Institute Issues Clinical Guidance Recommending All HIV-Related Care be Initiated Immediately Upon Diagnosis – OTDA Significantly Expanding Eligibility For Emergency Shelter Allowance
Expanding Preventative Care is a Vital Component of Governor Cuomo’s Unprecedented Commitment to End the AIDS Epidemic in New York
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced all HIV-positive individuals in New York City will become eligible to receive housing, transportation and nutritional support. The significant expansion of eligibility for Emergency Shelter Assistance is a result of a policy issued by the State Department of Health’s AIDS Institute that eliminates the technical distinction between those who are considered in need of care and those who are not. It has long been proven that all individuals who are diagnosed with HIV – whether they show symptoms or do not – benefit from receiving care.
“With today’s compassionate and common sense guidance, we are creating a better future for all New Yorkers living with an HIV positive diagnosis,” Governor Cuomo said. “Our commitment to fighting this disease is unrelenting and guided by our remembrance of those we lost. Every individual living with HIV should have access to life-saving care, regardless of whether or not they are symptomatic of the disease at that moment.” Read more