Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and Supportive Housing
Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) administer a powerful resource for creating supportive housing for homeless and extremely vulnerable populations – through Section 8 vouchers and their public housing stock. Particularly in today’s difficult funding environment, PHA's resources, capacity, and experience serving extremely low-income individuals and families make them critical partners in the CSH's efforts to create supportive housing and end homelessness.
There are many reasons PHAs choose to pursue supportive housing, including:
- Mission: Supportive Housing complements PHA's missions of providing affordable housing opportunities.
- Funding: Many PHAs are being approached with special needs and/or permanent supportive housing financing opportunities and applications, and some PHAs have been able to leverage their other affordable housing financing programs to support these efforts.
- Partnerships: Through effective partnerships that create innovative housing opportunities, PHAs have successfully overcome the challenge of housing individuals and families that were otherwise considered hard to serve because they struggle to succeed in traditional programs. In addition, PHAs are often active members of Continuum of Care planning councils and already closely engaged in supportive housing and homeless services efforts.
Additionally, PHA’s can play a critical role in partnering with Veterans Administration Medical Centers (VAMCs) to wisely utilize HUD-VASH vouchers – one of the only federal programs providing new rental assistance resources to reduce homelessness.
CSH is in the process of developing a supportive housing toolkit (expected first quarter 2012) tailored to the unique needs and resources of public housing authorities. The toolkit will emphasize concrete examples, models, and “how to” information that public housing authorities can easily use to inform and expand their work with supportive housing.
Among the key components of the toolkit will be the following:
- Introduction: The Case & Need for PHA Involvement in Supportive Housing
- PHA as Supportive Housing Developer or Development Partner
- PHA as Funder: Providing Rental Assistance
- PHA as Housing Provider for Most Vulnerable
- Reducing Barriers to Access and Processing Barriers
Coming soon! CSH has collected case studies that offer examples of creative strategies and successful collaborations between PHAs and supportive housing developers, operators and service providers.
