Miami reopens AIDS housing program

Ending a three-year freeze, health officials in Miami on Friday reopened a waiting list for a program that provides rental assistance for people with HIV/AIDS in Miami-Dade County, The Miami Herald reports. Officials expect thousands of people to apply for 300 available slots by the application deadline of October 31. Participants will be chosen by a random lottery and will be able to begin receiving rental assistance by December. "This is exciting because there is a huge need out there for people who have AIDS and need housing assistance," Liza Gallardo Walton of the city's Department of Community Development told the Herald. City AIDS activists hailed the move by the city, which came on the heels of a report by the Miami Office of Community Development that said the office paid out thousands of dollars in AIDS funding for prevention and treatment programs that had been earmarked for housing programs. The department corrected the error this summer by making $10.6 million available for the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS program.