AIDS housing earns national recognition

ST. LOUIS -- Ask Jimmy Fitzgerald why he lives in Doorways housing, and he recalls receiving some blunt advice.

"My doctor said, 'Either you go into Doorways or you die.' So I switched to a doctor I liked, and he basically told me the same thing," the 41-year-old said.

The Doorways interfaith AIDS residence program was one of 11 programs recognized by the St. Louis office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Wednesday. It was named a "shining star" program for spreading light throughout the community.

The supportive housing where Fitzgerald lives is the only facility of its kind in Missouri.

Fitzgerald believes he was infected with HIV a decade before he was diagnosed in 1998. These days, Fitzgerald is too sick to work; he struggles with AIDS as a fact of everyday life, talking about complicated drug treatment cocktails the way other people might discuss the weather.

But he said Doorways housing, where he's lived for three years, has made all the difference.

While the white brick and carved limestone residence in St. Louis' trendy Central West End is an impressive renovation, it's the services available inside that help people battle their illnesses.

Fitzgerald and 35 other men and women receive a simple, but private, bedroom and bath. They have a round-the-clock nursing staff to help them manage medication, counseling, and other services like meals and laundry.

Doorways isn't running a hospice. "About 70 percent of the people here improve, and go on to independent housing," said Doorways president Lynne Cooper.

Doorways runs its programs based on the idea that housing is part of health care. Organizers believe HIV-positive people need a safe roof over their heads before they can focus on treating their illness. The program has five residences in the St. Louis area with two more on the way.

Doorways assists about 450 people a month and has about 100 individuals or families on a waiting list.

But a door to expand Doorways recently opened up. The agency has just been awarded $1.3 million from HUD to provide supportive housing for people with HIV/AIDS in 79 of the state's 115 counties.

Cooper said housing must play a role when it comes to battling AIDS. "It used to be when people contracted HIV, they got poorer. Now, it's more poor people contracting HIV," she said. While AIDS can affect anyone, Cooper said she's seeing more people battling multiple issues, including mental health problems or substance abuse.

The agency provides different levels of assistance, from permanent housing to temporary apartments, from short-term funds to help someone remain at home to simply matching clients up with landlords.

Supportive housing residents "pay 30 percent of their income, even if their income is zero," Cooper explained. The housing and nursing cost about $200 a day. That's hundreds less than would be spent if clients needed to be hospitalized, Cooper said.

And the supportive housing may give the best indication of the assistance needed by many HIV-positive people.

Fitzgerald said when he first started battling his illness, he needed to take 88 pills a day, at different times, and he couldn't miss one dose.

He said he often messed up, making his body resistant to several drugs. He reels through a list of illnesses he has survived, the 30 pounds he lost in one week and the "God-awful" tasting pills with "God-awful" side effects.

But the mood at the building is upbeat, as several residents come and go. A medication room on the second floor contains a wall lined with wire bins filled with pills and reclining armchairs where people can sit while receiving treatments. A hair salon, pool table and kitchens on each floor are available.

And in the front hall, there's a white Christmas tree. It's decorated with red ornaments and looped red ribbons, symbolizing the approaching holidays, but also the fight against AIDS.