FIND HOUSING NOW:
HousingSearch™
DatabaseHOUSING PROGRAMS
+ HISC
+ HOPWA - STAP
+ Hotel / Meal
Vouchers
+ Section 8HELPFUL LINKS
+ Gov't Agencies /
Housing Advocacy
+ HOPWA Service Providers
+ How to Use
this Site
+ Moving
+ Search Sites for
Permanent Housing
+ Tenants Rights
+ TransportationHELP / TUTORIAL
+ About this Site
+ Guestbook
+ Frequently Asked
Questions
+ Tutorial: How to Use
This Site
TUTORIAL
Welcome to AIDSHousingLA.org! This website is divided into 6 major sections:
How to Use this Site -- A good place to start. This is where you are now. "How to Use this Site" is made up of the "Tutorial", "About this Site," the "Guestbook" and "Frequently Asked Questions". If this is your first time visiting the site, please take a moment to fill out the Guestbook. Navigation bars like the one below will help you move around the site.
Housing Factsheets -- AIDSHousingLA.org contains over 45 helpful factsheets on housing. Factsheets are divided up into sections for simplifying your search. You may use the pop-up menus on the home page to get directly to where you want to go, or you can click on the "Housing Factsheets" link on the navigation bar to the left.
HousingSearch™ Database --This is the heart of the site. This is where you'll find housing resources, their phone numbers, addresses, descriptions and eligibility requirements, websites and a map.
When searching with the HousingSearch™ database, you can use any or all of the search functions (1-4) to help find the listing you want. The search fields (1-4) narrow your search further with each field. So, when you just choose a "Category" (1) and click "go" it will give you all the listings in the database under that Category. When you combine "Category" with "Age & Gender" (2) you narrow your search to the listings in that Category that meet the Age & Gender requirements that you set. The same works with City (3) and Keyword (4), which are explained in more detail below. Remember that you can be as general or specific as you want. If you are being too specific in your search and not getting the results you want, try broadening your search.
Category -- Start here. What kind of listing are you looking for? Categories that are included in the database are:
- HOPWA Service Providers (ASOs);
- Shelters/Transitional Housing;
- Legal Assistance/Tenants Rights;
- Permanent Housing;
- Emergency Food/Clothing/Transportation;
- Hospice;
- Winter Shelter Program;
- Domestic Violence/Abuse Shelter;
- Drug/Alcohol/Addictions
If you are doing a broad search for Shelters (for example), you would use the pull-down Category menu, choose "Shelters/Transitional Housing" and click on the "go" button.Age & Gender -- Use this pull-down menu to narrow your search. For example, if you are looking for a Shelter for Females over 18, pick the "Shelters/Transitional Housing" Category (1), then use the next pull-down menu "Age & Gender", choose "Females 18+" and click on the "go" button.
City -- Narrow your search further by picking a city from the pull-down menu. When you choose a city from the pull-down menu, the database will search for listings within a 5-mile radius of the city you choose. Many "cities" in Los Angeles are actually neighborhoods that aren't considered cities by the Post Office. There is a link to a list of Neighborhoods and their zip codes underneath the orange search box. Locate the neighborhood you're looking for and get the zip code. Return to the HousingSearch page and enter the zip code into the Keyword (4) field. This will pull up all entries with that zip code. If you still aren't getting the results you desire, try broadening your search a bit, by choosing "Any" city and look through the results for an address that matches what you're looking for.
Keywords -- Narrow your search even more. All keywords listed in the database are listed underneath the orange search box (5). First, find the category that you are looking for. All the keywords associated with that category are listed underneath the category name. Then type the keyword exactly how it appears into the "Keyword" field (4)
HousingSearch™ Database Search Results -- You've completed your search fields and now the database has returned your listings. If you are having trouble and keep getting the "Sorry your search returned no results" message, you are searching too specifically and may need to search more broadly, using only the Category and Age & Gender or City fields. Also, remember that there are only 700 or so listings in the entire database. Of course this number will grow, but you must remember that not every City or Age & Gender group are going to return results. A good way to broaden your search may be to use "Any Group" under the Age & Gender field. Some categories such as HOPWA Service Providers and Legal Assistance aren't age and gender specific.
