HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS)

The Texas Department of State Health Services (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 Branch 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 permanent housing, including assistance for shared housing arrangements, in the private rental housing market. TBRA works like the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program in that 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 as a result 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” simply 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 on the basis of 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 December 18, 2018, DSHS updated the DSHS HOPWA Program forms. Full implementation is required by February 1, 2019. Households enrolled before this date will be grandfathered.

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. Additional program information can be found on the HUD Exchange HOPWA Page.

Program Forms

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Materials

Reporting Documents

Request for Proposal (RFP)/Renewal Application

Monitoring Tool

DSHS HOPWA Program Sample Documents

HOPWA Program Action Plans and Annual Reports

Action Plans

• 2015-2019 State of Texas Consolidated Plan (PDF) [TDHCA]
• HOPWA 2018 Action Plan (PDF) [TDHCA]
• HOPWA 2017 Action Plan (PDF) [TDHCA]
• HOPWA 2016 Action Plan (PDF) [TDHCA]
  

Annual Reports

• HOPWA 2017 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) (PDF) [TDHCA]
  
• HOPWA 2016 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) (PDF) [TDHCA]
• HOPWA 2015 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) (PDF) [TDHCA}