Federal Policy Brief | 1 Jul 2011

Author: National Alliance to End Homelessness

Files: PDF | 91 KB | 1 page

Program Overview
The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the core program intended to assist extremely low income people with the cost of housing. Participants pay 30 percent of their incomes toward rent, with the program paying the remainder up to a set maximum. Approximately 2 million households receive rental assistance through this program, and 75 percent of all new vouchers are targeted to people with incomes at or below 30 percent of area median income (AMI), which includes nearly all people who are homeless. The lack of funding for this program means that only about one in four households that are eligible for vouchers receive any form of federal housing assistance.

There is clear evidence that housing subsidies prevent and end homelessness for even the most vulnerable families. Families who exit shelter with a housing subsidy are 21 times more likely to remain stably housed than comparable families exiting shelter without a subsidy. Families who remained stably housed in subsidized housing included those with a history of mental illness, substance abuse problems, health problems, and incarceration. An evaluation of one variant of the Housing Choice Voucher program, the Family Unification Program (FUP), found that 88 percent of child welfare-involved, homeless families remained stably housed 12 months after receiving a FUP voucher.

Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration. The Administration has requested funding for a Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration, which would couple Housing Choice Vouchers with services provided through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and the Department of Education. Housing coupled with services is a model proven to end homelessness for many individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness. The demonstration has the potential to promote the type of cross-agency partnerships that will greatly improve homelessness assistance.

HUD-VA Supportive Housing Program. The HUD-VASH program combines a Housing Choice Voucher with case management and clinical services provided by the VA. Evaluation of this program has found that recipients increase days housed, employment, income, and social networks and decrease alcohol use and days spent homeless or in institutions.

HUD’s latest data shows that nearly 76,000 veterans are homeless at a given point in time, including many chronically homeless veterans who live on the streets and have a severe physical or mental disability. These veterans typically require permanent supportive housing – housing linked with intensive supports such as those provided by the HUD-VASH program – to help them maintain housing stability. A number of studies have demonstrated that this is a cost-effective approach that helps people who have intensive needs to maintain stable housing, and some evidence shows that once back in housing, they are more likely to access health and substance abuse treatment services.

Recommendation
Congress should work to address the shortage of affordable rental housing for low-income households. Congress should renew all existing Housing Choice Vouchers in FY 2012 and also provide additional funding for incremental vouchers targeted toward strategies that advance local efforts to end homelessness by targeting those households least likely to escape homelessness without a permanent, deep subsidy coupled with services, including:

• $57 million for 7,500 Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration vouchers; and
• $75 million for new HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program vouchers to serve an estimated 11,538 additional homeless veterans.

Current Status
In its February FY 2012 Budget Proposal, the Administration requested both $57 million for the Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration and $75 million for new HUD-VASH vouchers.