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Family Residential Complex |
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HIV infection was among the top four leading causes of death for African American women between the ages of 20 and 44 in 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Moreover, it was the number one cause of death for African American women ages 25 to 34. Since that time, the risk to minority women has gotten worse. The rate of AIDS diagnosis for black women in 2005 was approximately 23 times the rate for white women and 4 times the rate for Hispanic women. Many of those affected are single parents with small children. Nearly two-thirds of women with HIV/AIDS have annual incomes below $10,000 a year; 76% of them have children under age 18.
DOORWAYS’ response to the needs of families is represented by Mama Nyumba (Swahili for “my mother’s house) and Kaya Malaika (Swahili for “village of little angels”), that together comprise DOORWAYS’ Family Residential Program. Built between 2000 and 2003, the Mama/Kaya complex is one of the few AIDS-housing developments in the nation specifically designed to meet the needs of single parents. Two buildings adjacent to one another house 30 adults and 70 children in 29 units. An enclosed courtyard provides a place for children's recreation, and there are community rooms available for counseling and workshops. The complex was designed with the capacity to provide supportive educational services and a base from which families could be referred to medical care and social services. Also included in the original design was an on-site Learning Center, a spacious room now fully furnished with computers, a television and VCR, and educational CD-ROMs, tapes, books, and toys.
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