Heads Up
HOPWA Technical Assistance: Building Changes Nurtures Social Change through Inspired Training
For the past thirteen years, Building Changes has provided Technical Assistance (TA) to Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) grantees across the U.S. Our TA staff serves 2,000 providers annually through on-site trainings, phone consultations, and resource dissemination. We focus on personalized training that resolves problems, offers innovative approaches for housing and service providers, and nurtures change. Our goal is to assist providers and program developers in supporting the dignity of those living with HIV/AIDS through safe and affordable service-enriched housing. Mariah Ybarra, Building Changes’ HIV/AIDS Housing Initiatives Manager (pictured above, left, with colleague Perrin Burnes), has been at the helm of our efforts in this area for more than eleven years.
“Technical assistance is not often associated with inspiration and the human soul,” said HOPWA TA client Catherine Hummel of the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, “but when all of our people gathered, Mariah addressed their unique needs, including those we ultimately serve – clients with HIV/AIDS. Many of our folks come from rural parts of the state where the barriers they face are often magnified. Being spiritually restored, while learning how to creatively comply with so many regulations, is a refreshing experience. People left totally jazzed about what they were doing.”
