Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA)

The DSHS Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program provides housing assistance and supportive services to help low-income persons living with HIV and their households establish or maintain affordable and stable housing, reduce their risk of homelessness, and improve their access to health care and supportive services. The HIV/STD Prevention and Care Unit administers the program, which is funded by annual formula grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). DSHS authorizes the following program activities:

Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) - TBRA is a rental subsidy used to help households obtain or maintain permanent housing, including assistance for shared housing arrangements, in the private rental housing market. Households select a housing unit of their choice and the assistance pays the difference between the contractual rent to the owner and the household’s calculated rent payment. The gross rent of the proposed unit must be at or below the lower of the rent standard or the reasonable rent.
Short-Term Rent, Mortgage, and Utility Assistance (STRMU) - STRMU provides short-term, rent, mortgage, and utility payments for households experiencing a financial crisis because of their HIV health condition or a change in their economic circumstances. STRMU is designed to prevent households from becoming homeless by helping them remain in their own dwellings.
Facility-Based Housing Assistance (FBHA) - All eligible HOPWA housing assistance expenditures for or associated with supportive housing facilities including community residences, single-room occupancy (SRO) dwellings, short-term facilities, project-based rental assistance units, master leased units, and other housing facilities approved by HUD. The DSHS HOPWA Program limits the use of FBHA to Short-Term Supportive Housing (STSH) and Transitional Supportive Housing (TSH) services.
Permanent Housing Placement (PHP) - PHP may be used to help households establish permanent residence in which continued occupancy is expected. Eligible costs include application fees, related credit checks, utility hookup fees and deposits, and reasonable security deposits necessary to move persons into permanent housing.
Housing Case Management - Housing Case Management is considered a central component of HOPWA supportive services and key to successful program outcomes for housing stability and access to care. “Housing case management” means that the central emphasis of a case manager’s work with a household is placed on housing issues, including evaluation of housing options, housing stability, and housing specific goals. Housing Case Management may be provided in conjunction with housing assistance services or as a standalone service.
Housing Information Services - Housing Information Services include, but are not limited to, counseling, information, and referral services to assist households with locating, acquiring, financing, and maintaining housing. This may also include fair housing guidance for households that have encountered discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, familial status, or disability.
Resource Identification - Resource Identification encompasses activities that establish, coordinate, and develop housing assistance resources for eligible households (including preliminary research and expenditures necessary to determine the feasibility of specific housing-related initiatives).

The DSHS HOPWA Program uses standardized program and service forms to assist Project Sponsors with program enrollment and service delivery. DSHS Project Sponsors are required to use the DSHS HOPWA Program forms unless otherwise noted in the DSHS HOPWA Program Manual. On July 22, 2022, DSHS updated the DSHS HOPWA Program forms. Full implementation is required by September 1, 2022. Households enrolled before this date will be grandfathered.

DSHS HOPWA Program Service Providers

Agencies across the state receive DSHS HOPWA Program funding. Please contact your local service provider to request housing assistance.

Manual and Guides

The manual and guides provide a basic overview of the DSHS HOPWA Program and its eligible activities and requirements. They are not intended to replace existing guidance produced by HUD. More program information can be found on the HUD Exchange HOPWA page.

DSHS HOPWA Program Manual and Guides

HOPWA Program Manual

Determining Household Annual Gross Income

Determining Household Annual Adjusted Income

Program Forms

HOPWA Program Enrollment Forms

	File Structure Checklist
Form A	Self-Declaration of Income (English/Spanish)
Form B	Self-Declaration of Residency (English/Spanish)
Form C	Household Income Eligibility Worksheet
Form D	HOPWA Program Agreement (English/Spanish)
Form E	Demographic and Statistical Data
Form F	Consent to Release and/or Obtain Confidential Information (English/Spanish)
Form G	Housing Quality Standards Certification

DSHS HOPWA Program - Service Forms

TBRA and/or TSH
Form H/I	Rental Assistance Workbook
Form J	Housing Choice Voucher/Other Affordable Housing Waiver
STRMU and/or STSH
Form K1	STRMU Tracking Worksheet
Form K2	STSH Tracking Worksheet
PHP
Form L	PHP Intent to Lease Worksheet
Supportive Services
Form M	Budget Worksheet
Form N	Housing Plan

HOPWA Interim Recertification Forms (if applicable)

Form O

Interim Recertification Worksheet (English/Spanish)

HOPWA Outcome Data and Program Disenrollment Forms

Form P

Service Outcome Assessment and Program Disenrollment Worksheet

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Materials

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Materials

VAWA	Certification Form (English)
VAWA	Certification Form (Spanish)
VAWA	Emergency Transfer Form (English)
VAWA	Emergency Transfer Form (Spanish)
VAWA	Emergency Transfer Plan (English)
VAWA	Emergency Transfer Plan (Spanish)
VAWA	Lease Addendum (English)
VAWA	Lease Addendum (Spanish)
VAWA	Notice of Occupancy Rights (English)
VAWA	Notice of Occupancy Rights (Spanish)