Sproles said that there are occasions where clients refuse to move from hotels with poor conditions, even when offered alternative housing. Even with the horrible and dreary conditions in the hotels, some AIDS advocates would argue that a bad hotel room is better than no hotel room. It is also believed that the exorbitant amount of rent charged helps to allow the landlords to covert SRO hotels into tourist hotels and dormitories. We are pursuing multiple strategies to ensure that AIDS patients who need housing get housing. Casework is often inconsistent and leans toward being poor.
Some caseworkers are diligent and compassionate.
Others hide in their rooms and lock the door behind them. According to the NDRI report, one caseworker would play favorites. When given free meals to distribute, she would give food to the clients she liked and would tell those she didn't like that there was no food. Conscientious caseworkers are hampered from advocating for their clients in two ways. As federal employees, they have very little power in the city's social service bureaucracy.