Housing program for HIV positive youth experiencing homelessness offers path to health, safety, and stability
Angelina pictured in 2024.
By Melanie Rockoff, Manager, Grants and Communications
Between 2017 and 2023, Angelina, a young mother of five from Chicago’s Southeast Side, cycled in and out of homelessness. After years of tumult marked by abuse and declining health, she received life-altering news: She was HIV positive.
“After I got diagnosed, I was like, I can’t do this [anymore],” says Angelina. “My partner didn’t want to get treatment. I was the only one that wanted the help. I had to transition away from that. I started reaching out for the help that usually I would be embarrassed to ask for. I [had] to just turn the other cheek and do what I have to do for my kids.”
Making good on her word, Angelina and her children moved into a shelter for survivors of domestic violence in March 2023. From there, things progressed quickly. She was enrolled in La Casa Norte’s first-ever KEYS (Keep Empowering Youth to Succeed) cohort – a Rapid Re-Housing programmatic subset for young adults concurrently navigating homelessness and HIV/AIDS.
“When you get diagnosed with HIV, you automatically think the worst is going to happen. When I got enrolled with the KEYS program, it lightened up my life to where I was able to start reaching out for medicine and staying on track.”
Next, she was matched with La Casa Norte case manager Rosario Cruz. Says Angelina, “When I sat down and told [Rosario] my situation, she had me in my apartment within one month. She’s helped me with everything: transportation, living, food, furniture. When I came to this apartment, I didn’t even have clothes. She came and saved the day. She’s not only a case worker; she’s my family’s angel.”
Despite these positive developments, Angelina’s health struggles persisted. “I was sick all the time. Turns out, I was 29 weeks pregnant and had 10 weeks to plan for a baby. I was so scared [he] would be born sick.
Her case manager’s response to the unexpected news? “We’re having a baby!” recalls Angelina, laughing. “She was so excited for me that it comforted me, you know?”
Under the guidance of her doctors, Angelina began treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission. “He’s been undetectable so far, thank God,” says Angelina, who, for the past seven months, has also been undetectable. In the next room, her now five-month-old son Zachary naps contentedly.
With her family safe, her housing stabilized, and her health trending upward, Angelina returned to school in August 2023. Through Olive-Harvey College’s Career Bridge program, she recently earned her high school diploma and is in the process of obtaining an associate degree in early childhood education. One day, she hopes to open her own learning center.
Looking to the future, Angelina is optimistic. “Without [this program], I don’t even know where I would be right now. Probably still house-hopping with my family. KEYS has given me all the tools to get a full-time job, finish school, and maintain my living.”