Thanks to a renewable, two-year $4.2 million grant from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), HIV-positive homeless people in Chicago will now be able to access permanent housing through the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s Supportive Housing for Health and Partnership (CHHP).

“We are very grateful and excited for this wonderful opportunity and look forward to working very hard to make sure homeless people in our city find a safe and secure home in which to care for themselves and their loved ones,” said the foundation’s president and CEO, Mark Ishaug.

The grant is part of HUD’s $1.6 billion initiative to benefit housing assistance programs nationwide. AFC’s Service Providers Council—made up of 160 Chicago AIDS service organizations—worked for three years to obtain the HUD grant, which will be implemented this fall.