Idaho AIDS Foundation Closes Doors

The Idaho AIDS Foundation (IAF) appears to have closed, and the Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) is looking for a new organization to use a grant to shelter people with the disease. IAF's doors are closed, and telephone messages left by the Associated Press were unanswered. For the HIV/AIDS community, it may be too soon to tell what the impact is. For people with AIDS who get money from the government for housing, the effect is more clear -- they are not getting grant funds, at least for now.

In addition to housing and food assistance programs, the foundation formerly provided case management services and counseling. The federal grant money has been frozen since October, when the foundation refused to turn over audit information to the IHFA. The organization accused the state agency of privacy violations. The IHFA, which denied the allegations, was ordered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to freeze the three-year, $1.2 million grant until the audit could be completed. "Obviously this is an issue because this is taxpayers dollars," IHFA Public Affairs Director Steve Rector said.

The IHFA does not yet know if any individuals actually received support from the grant through the foundation, or if they have, how they have managed since the grant money was frozen. There is also no official notification that the foundation is closed, temporarily or otherwise, Rector said. The IHFA is in the preliminary stages of finding a new agency to use the grant in case the IAF is closed. "We want to make sure the participants are taken care of," Rector said. The Department of Health and Welfare knows of just over 700 Idaho residents reported to have HIV/AIDS, but the real number is probably much higher, said Anne Williamson, the STD/AIDS program manager at the department.

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