09/02/2016

Public Housing Authorities - A Vital Partner in Supportive Housing

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released "It Starts with Housing: Public Housing Agencies are Making Second Chances Real," which provides guidance for engaging Public Housing Authorities (PHA's) to help prospective supportive housing tenants who have been involved with the criminal justice system. darren (2)

In addition to offering valuable housing resources for individuals and families with extremely low-incomes, PHA’s are great partners in creating supportive housing. Progress on making their application criteria fairer for the criminal justice-involved is an important step toward additional opportunities for partnerships.

People who are vulnerable and experience long-term periods of homelessness often find themselves cycling through many institutions, including jails and prisons. This costs society on many levels and can trap people in a downward spiral of despair. Promising results show that supportive housing can break this cycle with stable housing and services, and make our communities safer. That's why it's important for PHA's to embrace supportive housing that offers people a real chance to rebuild their lives.

CSH applauds and works with PHA's that are acting to reduce barriers to housing.

In addition to the case studies highlighted in this report (Seattle, WA, New York, NY and Burlington, VT), Housing Authorities in the state of Ohio have begun exploring these issues collectively.

Learn more about Ohio's statewide housing summit on reducing barriers for those with criminal justice involvement.

JeffFor more information on how housing authorities can partner to create supportive housing, check out our PHA resources, including a supportive housing toolkit for PHA's  or contact us at consulting@csh.org.

Copyright 2022 ©  by CSH. All Rights Reserved