Key Points
- HIV is manageable
- There is an effective treatment for HIV called antiretroviral therapy (ART).
Living with HIV
HIV is manageable like many other chronic diseases. HIV treatment involves taking medicine to reduce the amount of HIV in your body.
For more information on Living with HIV, visit Living with HIV | HIV | CDC
Treatment for HIV
- The treatment for HIV is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV treatment regimen) every day.
- ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV. People with HIV should start taking HIV medicines as soon as possible. ART cannot cure HIV, but HIV medicines help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART also reduces the risk of HIV transmission.
- A main goal of HIV treatment is to reduce a person’s viral load to an undetectable level. An undetectable viral load means that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected by a viral load test.
- For information on Treating HIV, visit Treating HIV | HIV | CDC
- For more information on HIV Treatment:hivinfo.nih.gov/understanding-hiv/fact-sheets/hiv-treatment-basics
HIV Care and Support Services
Find an HIV provider who can help you access medical care, medications and essential support services.
Emergency Financial Assistance provides limited one-time or short-term payments to assist a client with an urgent need for essential items or services necessary to improve health outcomes, including: utilities, housing, food (including groceries and food vouchers), transportation, medication not covered by an AIDS Drug Assistance Program or AIDS Pharmaceutical Assistance, or another HRSA RWHAP-allowable cost needed to improve health outcomes.
Food Bank refers to the provision of actual food items, hot meals, or a voucher program to purchase food.
Housing provides transitional, short-term, or emergency housing assistance to enable a client or family to gain or maintain outpatient/ambulatory health services and treatment, including temporary assistance necessary to prevent homelessness and to gain or maintain access to medical care.
Medical Case Management is the provision of a range of client-centered activities focused on improving health outcomes in support of the HIV care continuum.
Mental Health Services are the provision of outpatient psychological and psychiatric screening, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and counseling services offered to clients living with HIV.
Non-Medical Case Management Services is the provision of a range of client-centered activities focused on improving access to and retention in needed core medical and support services. NMCM provides coordination, guidance, and assistance in accessing medical, social, community, legal, financial, employment, vocational, and/or other needed services.
The provision of medical nutritional therapy by a licensed registered dietitian outside of an ambulatory medical care/outpatient visit, including nutrition assessment and screening, dietary/nutritional evaluation, food and/or nutritional supplements per medical provider’s recommendation, and nutrition education and/or counseling.
Other Professional Services allow for the provision of professional and consultant services rendered by members of professions licensed and/or qualified to offer such services by local governing authorities.
Oral Health Care activities include outpatient diagnosis, prevention, and therapy provided by dental health care professionals, including general dental practitioners, dental specialists, dental hygienists, and licensed dental assistants.
Outpatient/Ambulatory Health Services provide diagnostic and therapeutic-related activities directly to a client by a licensed healthcare provider in an outpatient medical setting.
The effort to identify people with unknown HIV disease or those who know their status (i.e. case finding) so that they may become aware of and enroll in care and treatment services.
Psychosocial Support Services provide group or individual support and counseling services to assist eligible persons with HIV to address behavioral and physical health concerns.
Medical Transportation is the provision of nonemergency transportation that enables an eligible client to access or be retained in core medical and support services.
CAREWare
CAREWare is a free, electronic health and social support services information system for HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program recipients and providers. The NJ Department of Health Division of HIV, STD & TB Services CAREWare Team can provide technical support for CAREWare related issues.
- Angela Petrone angela.petrone@doh.nj.gov
- Dennis Smith dennis.smith@doh.nj.gov
- Naima Abdul-Halim naima.abdul-halim@doh.nj.gov
Information from Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)
Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) provides a comprehensive system of HIV primary medical care, medications, and essential support service for low-income people with HIV. There are five parts of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, each with a different funding purpose.
To learn more about Ryan White, visit: ryanwhite.hrsa.gov/about
Experts in HIV care develop medical practice guidelines, approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HRSA develops clinical protocols and practices from these guidelines, to help deliver effective HIV care.
To learn more about Clinical Care Guidelines and Resources, visit: ryanwhite.hrsa.gov/grants/clinical-care-guidelines-resources
Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)
The Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) Program is the only Federal program dedicated to the housing needs of people living with HIV/AIDS. The Division of HIV, STD and TB Services (DHSTS) Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program helps eligible 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.
DHSTS authorizes the following program activities (Additional HOPWA program activities may be available in the future):
TBRA provides an ongoing and portable rental subsidy that helps households obtain or maintain permanent housing, including assistance for shared housing arrangements, in the private rental housing market until they can enroll in the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) or other affordable housing programs. Under TBRA, households select a housing unit of their choice. TBRA pays the difference between the household’s calculated monthly rent payment and the rent specified in their lease agreement. The gross rent of the proposed unit must be at or below the lower of the rent standard or the reasonable rent.
PHP helps households access, secure, and establish a permanent residence, maintained either on their own or with the help of ongoing rental assistance. Eligible PHP housing assistance costs include, but are not limited to, application fees, first and last month’s rent, and reasonable utility and security deposits required for lease approval and occupancy.
DHSTS HOPWA Program Service Providers
Contact your local service provider to required housing assistance.
- For more information on HOPWA, visit hudexchange.info/programs/hopwa.
- For more information on Hyacinth, our project sponsor, visit hyacinth.org.