As Manager of HIV/AIDS Housing Initiatives, I am proud to be a part of Building Changes' legacy work and ongoing commitment to addressing the housing needs of people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to participating in our local HIV/AIDS housing and services work, I was elected to the board of directors for the National AIDS Housing Coalition (NAHC) earlier this year; I am the fourth Building Changes staff to hold this distinction. NAHC works at the federal, state, and local levels to educate and inform advocates, service providers, the business community, and policy makers about the funding priorities that impact housing options for the most vulnerable. Our involvement with NAHC is a great testimonial to our many years of experience and successes working in the AIDS housing field, and aligns so strongly with Building Changes' mission to address the economic and social conditions that adversely affect people's housing, health, and job opportunities through advocating for policy, funding, and systems reform.

This year NAHC joined with partners, Housing Works, San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Ontario HIV Treatment Network, to co-sponsor a housing satellite meeting at the 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. One of the major outcomes of this meeting was the endorsement of the Housing Declaration, which demands that policy makers address the lack of adequate housing as a barrier to effective HIV prevention, treatment, and care; and further demands that all governments fund and develop housing as an appropriate component of HIV healthcare. The goal is to elevate homelessness, poverty, and housing's implications for HIV/AIDS healthcare in the discourse on addressing the AIDS pandemic, including at the next International AIDS Conference in Vienna in 2010.

As we all pause to reflect on World AIDS Day this year, I hope you will join me in supporting this great cause, both locally and globally.