Eagle Pass Housing Authority Board approves Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Memorandum of Understanding

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

The Eagle Pass Housing Authority (EPHA) Board of Commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maverick County Hospital District (MCHD) Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program at their regular monthly meeting on Thursday, May 22, 2014, agreeing to collaborate with public housing information for HIV/AIDS clients of the Ryan White Program.

The agenda item called for the discussion and possible approval by the EPHA Board of Commissioners of a Collaborative Continuum of Care Letter Agreement with the Maverick County Hospital District’s Ryan White Program. The Ryan White Program is a program designed to assist HIV/AIDS persons with testing, medications, social services, and public housing information as a last resort in a nine county area, including Maverick County.  The Ryan White Program is a joint federal and state program with Bexar County being the grantee for South Texas and the Maverick County Hospital District is a sub-grantee of Bexar County for the nine county region.

EPHA Board Chairperson Ana M. Gonzalez welcomed MCHD Ryan White Program Director William Worrell and also asked if this matter had ever been brought before the EPHA Board of Commissioners.

EPHA Executive Director Mary D. Velasquez answered Chairperson Gonzalez that this proposed Memorandum of Understanding with the MCHD Ryan White Program had never been brought or presented to the EPHA Board of Commissioners as an official Memorandum of Understanding between the two local governmental entities until this meeting.  “ We have been helping them through their request, that they would call Mrs. Liza Cano , even maybe before. There wasn’t an official agreement,” said Velasquez.

“ I had never heard of this as a board member,” said Chairperson Gonzalez.

“ Mr. Worrell approached me in reference to this agreement. Their granting agency requires coordination with our agency to housing their clients. Their clients will be treated like any other applicant. We will apply all the same rules and terms like the others. They will not receive any special treatment,” added Velasquez.

Velasquez also explained to the EPHA Board that the Ryan White Program applicants for public housing would go through the same process such as the waiting list for public housing units and that this was beneficial because it shows how the EPHA is coordinating with other local  agencies to provide assistance to residents in the community.

Worrell then addressed the EPHA Board and stated that the Ryan White Program through its HOPWA grant is a continuum of care that links community people within the nine counties it encompasses to care to prevent the spread of disease and public housing assistance to HIV/AIDS persons.  “For the HOPWA grant, the federal government asks that we collaborate with the Housing Authority as we are the pair of last resort. In other words, we need to go through other applicable sources in our community,” added Worrell.

Worrell then concurred with Velasquez’s earlier statements on the terms of the agreement and requested that the EPHA provide once every other month information on current standings on waiting times for public housing units and the total of utility allowances as well.

Worrell stated that currently there are a total of 67 Ryan White Program clients within the nine counties that the MCHD Ryan White Program serves, including 41 clients in Eagle Pass and Maverick County.

The EPHA Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the first ever Memorandum of Understanding between the EPHA and the MCHD Ryan White Program.

Interestingly, the MCHD Ryan White Program and the EPHA had never approved nor executed a joint Memorandum of Understanding until this May 22, 2014 EPHA Board of Commissioners meeting despite the Ryan White Program’s implementation at the MCHD since October 2012.  Although Worrell asked the EPHA Board of Commissioners to approve this Memorandum of Understanding with the MCHD Ryan White Program, he has yet to present the MCHD Board of Directors to approve this same Memorandum of Understanding.  MCHD Board member Ricardo E. Calderon asked Worrell at the MCHD’s April 30th Board meeting, why was he not requesting the MCHD Board of Directors to approve the Ryan White Program Memorandum of Understandings.  Calderon noted that all local governmental entities such as the school district, city, and county regularly approve Memorandum of Understandings between them by their joint respective Boards. Worrell replied that he was not aware that the MCHD Board had to approve the Ryan White Program Memorandum of Understandings.  Calderon recommended Worrell that he present all Ryan White Program Memorandum of Understandings for approval by the MCHD Board of Directors.  It remains to be seen if Worrell will request the MCHD Board of Directors to approve the EPHA and Ryan White Program Memorandum of Understanding as well as other such agreements with other local entities at a future MCHD Board meeting.  Unless the MCHD Board of Directors approve this Memorandum of Understanding between its Ryan White Program and the EPHA, the EPHA’s Board of Commissioners approval may be for naught.