St. Paul Public Housing Authority (PHA) created a project-based assistance program that has no limit on the number of units that can serve homeless and special needs populations. They currently have about 260 units under contract.
St. Paul PHA saw a need for supportive housing in their community to serve families and individuals who would not otherwise qualify for federal rent subsidies through public housing or tenant-based voucher programs. This program has enabled them to serve a variety of households who have experienced homelessness, including those recovering from chemical dependency, homeless youth exiting foster care, and families with children.
Move to Work (MTW) status was not required to implement this program.
St. Paul PHA offers this advice to other PHAs, “PHAs should be sure to learn and follow all of the HUD requirements and keep good records showing that you fully complied with those requirements… There are many requirements that aren’t listed clearly in the regulations, and so it’s often best to get guidance directly from HUD, or from others who have experience working with PBV programs.”
In 2012, the Executive Director of St. Paul PHA, Jon Gutzmann, won the CSH Central Region Conference PiiNHZO Award, which is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to ensuring that affordable, well-run supportive housing is available to anyone who needs it in Minnesota. Jon is an innovative PHA leader who paved the way for the early and continuing efforts to project-base rental assistance into supportive housing.
Learn more about St. Paul PHA’s Program, view documents they used to implement the program, and learn from other PHAs on CSH’s PHA Webpage and in our PHA Toolkit.
