HUD AND HHS TEAM UP TO PROVIDE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING TO EXTREMELY LOW-INCOME PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN CALIFORNIA

Nearly $12 million in rental assistance to prevent homelessness or unnecessary institutionalization

WASHINGTON – In an effort to spare hundreds of Californians with disabilities from homelessness or unnecessary institutionalization, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today awarded the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) $11.9 million.  CalHFA will use this source of federal funding to offer rental assistance to 335 extremely low-income persons with disabilities, many of whom are transitioning out of institutional settings or are at extreme risk of homelessness.  By working together, HUD and HHS are helping states like California offer permanent housing and critically needed supportive services to these at-risk individuals.

 HUD’s support of these state agencies is made possible through the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (PRA Demo) which enables persons with disabilities who earn less than 30 percent of median income to live in integrated mainstream settings.  The state housing agencies are working closely with their state Medicaid and health and human service counterparts to identify, refer, and conduct outreach to persons with disabilities who require long-term services and supports to live independently. 

“Two federal agencies are working together to solve common sense problems and offer real and lasting solutions for persons who might otherwise be institutionalized or living on our streets,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.  “We’re helping states reduce health care costs, improving quality of life for persons with disabilities, and ending homelessness as we know it.”

“This program funds long-term project based rental assistance for extremely low-income people with disabilities,” said HUD Regional Administrator Ophelia Basgal.  “It will give them stable housing and needed supportive services to help them find their place within the fabric of their community.”

At a 9:45 a.m. press conference on February 12 at the Elihu Harris State Building in Oakland, California, HUD Regional Administrator Basgal presented CalHFA nearly $12 million in HUD funding to support the Section 811 PRA Demo.  CalHFA’s Executive Director Claudia Cappio received the award and was joined by Bill Pavão, executive director of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.

CalHFA collaborated with Department of Health Care Services, the state’s Medicaid agency and the state’s two other housing finance agencies (the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee) to develop the state’s Section 811 PRA Demo Program.  Project sponsors will apply for subsidy funding, and the state will review and select projects for funding.

"This grant will help change lives, providing appropriate and supportive housing for Californians with disabilities," said Claudia Cappio, Executive Director of CalHFA. "By integrating our housing and health resources, we apply more funding to the significant needs of the disabled in our state and we can help end the cycle of homelessness that has impacted too many people. We appreciate the great partnership with these two federal agencies and two state agencies -- without that partnership, none of the benefits would be possible."

Today’s announcement reinforces the guiding principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act  and the landmark 1999 Supreme Court ruling in Olmstead v. L.C., which requires state and local governments to provide services to individuals with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs.

The Dedicating Opportunities to End Homelessness (DOEH) Initiative is a joint effort by HUD and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) to help communities match their homeless supports with other mainstream resources such as housing choice vouchers, public housing, private multifamily housing units, and other federally funded services.  The initiative is beginning in 10 critically important communities: Atlanta, Chicago, Fresno County, Los Angeles County, Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix/Maricopa County, Seattle, and Tampa.

Authorized under the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010, HUD’s Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Demonstration Program provides funding to states for project-based rental assistance to develop permanent affordable housing options in integrated settings for extremely low-income persons with disabilities.  Under the state health care/housing agency partnership, each state has in place a policy for referrals, tenant selection, and service delivery to ensure that this housing is targeted to those persons with disabilities most in need of deeply affordable supportive housing.  

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HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.govand http://espanol.hud.gov.  You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDnews, on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD’s News Mailing List.

 Summary of the California Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Demonstration Program

California Housing Finance Agency

Sacramento, California

$11,870,256

Total Units – 335

The California Housing Finance Agency collaborated with the state’s Department of Health Care Services, the state’s Medicaid agency and the state’s two other housing finance agencies (the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee) to develop the state’s Section 811 PRA Demo Program.  These funds will be used to provide long-term project-based rental assistance for 335 units reserved for extremely low-income people with disabilities.  The target population for this program is Medicaid beneficiaries with disabilities transitioning from institutional settings and persons at serious risk of institutionalization in all 58 counties in the state.  Project sponsors will apply for subsidy funding, and the state will review and select projects for funding.  In addition, this grant will assist in achieving the administration’s 10 year goal of ending homelessness. In California, Los Angeles and Fresno have been identified as having significant chronically homeless populations.

List of the 13 states receiving Section 811 grants: