The Technical Assistance Collaborative is seeking a consultant to assist with the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Equity Initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HOPWA Equity Initiative (HEI) consultant must be a person with lived experience who is currently receiving, or has in the past received, housing or services through a HOPWA program.
About the Initiative
The HUD Office of HIV/AIDS Housing (OHH), in alignment with the Biden Administrations’ priority of racial equity, is instituting the HOPWA Race, Gender, and LGBTQ Equity Initiative (HEI).
It is the policy of the Biden Administration that the federal government shall work with communities to end housing discrimination, to provide redress to those who have experienced housing discrimination, to eliminate racial bias and other forms of discrimination in all stages of home-buying and renting, to lift barriers that restrict housing and neighborhood choice, to promote diverse and inclusive communities, to ensure sufficient physically accessible housing, and to secure equal access to housing opportunity for all.
OHH will work with communities to assess their HOPWA programs’ ability to address equity and provide tools for communities to improve their systems such that people living with HIV and/or AIDS have equitable access to housing and services.
This initiative’s desired outcome is to have HOPWA programs that provide services using an equity lens, ensuring that Back, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), women, and LGBTQ people have unfettered access to housing and services.
The goals of this initiative are to:
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Set the expectation in the current environment for communities to adopt equity as a core
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Utilize current data to establish a baseline of how HOPWA programs currently address
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Develop tools and resources for communities to build their systems to increase equity in their communities.
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Provide guidance on how communities can address equity as part of their program
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Identify synergies between HOPWA, Community Planning and Development programs, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Human Services around equity
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Allocate resources to ensure successful movement in the direction of improved
Duties and Responsibilities
The HEI Consultant is an active member of the HOPWA Equity Initiative team and participates in the creation and direction of the project. The HEI Consultant is an independent contractor and not an employee of TAC.
Responsibilities will include:
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Participate in HEI team meetings
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Strong communication skills; able to read, speak and comprehend English
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Complete any “homework” assigned to the team, including relevant background materials
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Assist with research, as assigned
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Assist with the development of “best practices”
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Assist with development of a report on the state of equity in the HOPWA program
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Be prepared for meetings
Consultant Requirements
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Must have access to a computer and stable internet that can run Zoom calls or other meeting platforms, and must have regular access to a telephone
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Must be proficient with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft
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Must be available to work between 5 and 10 hours per month, including meetings, during the business hours 11:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time.
This position is a consulting position and not a staff position. HEI consultants will be paid on an hourly basis and will bill monthly. Minimum compensation is $25 per hour.
Application Instructions
Individuals interested in applying are asked to send a resume and cover letter to Alison Korte at akorte@tacinc.org.
Selection Criteria and Notification
We will be giving priority selection on individuals who:
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Identify as a member of the LGBTQ community
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Are Black, Indigenous, Latinx, or Asian
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Currently live in HOPWA-assisted housing
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Have previously received HOPWA housing or services (additional priority given if within the past 5 years)
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Have a history of involvement in local HIV/AIDS or related planning, programs, or other events