Sabrina Wilson with her son Kevin Harris. She says she has been turned down many times in her search for new housing.
Mrs. Wilson, whose H.I.V. was diagnosed 18 years ago, had always dreaded the thought of having to find another landlord who would accept her rental subsidy from the city. But this time, because her current landlord faced foreclosure, the sense of urgency landed her in the hospital.
“I got sick because of the stress,” said Mrs. Wilson, who is 51 but moves at the pace of an octogenarian. “I cried day in and day out. Where am I going to stay? Where am I going?”
At least 50 H.I.V.-positive renters have complained to city housing organizations in the past months of being forced out or threatened with eviction because of foreclosures. The agencies say they do not know the exact number of families in housing trouble because there is no centralized system for tracking them, but all say that H.I.V.-positive renters are in a particular squeeze.
High rental rates, combined with insufficient public benefits and ineffective antidiscrimination laws, can extend their housing search to a year or more. Unless the landlord is forthcoming, or the bank is diligent in notifying them, tenants may not learn of a foreclosure until they have just a few months to move, putting them in a crisis situation.
