Permanent Housing

STEP 9: PERMANENT HOUSING

Your community has a sufficient supply affordable housing and permanent supportive housing to meet the needs of extremely low-income households and chronically homeless people.

Your community has a sufficient supply affordable housing and permanent supportive housing to meet the needs of extremely low-income households and chronically homeless people.

Affordable Housing
Housing instability for extremely low-income households will continue until the supply of affordable housing increases substantially. While federal funding for affordable housing has dramatically declined over the past decade, states and municipalities have developed a number of strategies to respond to the housing needs of extremely low-income households.

The number of state and local housing trust funds has significantly increased since the 1990s, leveraging resources to increase the supply of affordable housing for low-income people. Some counties and cities have developed inclusionary zoning programs, requiring developers to include affordable housing units when building new developments. States and localities are also developing locally funded housing subsidy program, including short-term and shallow subsidies.

Supportive Housing
The cost of homelessness is high, particularly for those with chronic illnesses, mental health issues and addictions. Because they have no regular place to stay, life on the streets and in the shelter system exacerbates illness and leads to the use of a variety of public systems in an inefficient and costly way. Preventing a homeless episode or ensuring a speedy transition into stable, permanent housing can result in significant cost savings.

A landmark study conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that supportive housing―independent housing linked to comprehensive support services―provided major reductions in costs incurred by homeless mentally ill people across different service systems―$16,282 per person in a housing unit year round. When all the costs of supportive housing and public services are considered, it costs the public only $995 more a year to provide supportive housing to a mentally ill individual than it does to allow him or her to remain homeless.

Spotlight

Audio | February 21, 2008
Annual Federal Budget Briefing held on February 5, 2008.
Conference Presentation | July 10, 2007
Almost all of the communities showing progress in ending homelessness have initiated some type of rental assistance program that subsidizes housing for people who are homeless. These programs vary in size and scope with some offering one-time cash infusion, some offering ongoing shallow support, and others offering deeper subsidies. This workshop examined key considerations in designing a local housing subsidy program and where to find the funding to make it a reality.

Library Resources

Icon
Audio | February 21, 2008
Annual Federal Budget Briefing held on February 5, 2008.
Icon
Conference Presentation | July 10, 2007
Housing Trust Funds exist in all but a few states across the country and can be an important resource for developing affordable housing. Learn how Housing Trust Funds work, what they typically fund, who gets the money, how to tap the Trust Fund in your state, and how to ensure that the Trust Fund targets funds to the lowest income individuals and those that are currently homeless.
Icon
Conference Presentation | July 10, 2007
This workshop provided participants with a general overview of how to finance affordable housing. The course covered how to read real estate pro forma and general information regarding different financing sources for affordable housing, including CDBG, HOME funds, grants, low-income housing tax credits, and bond financing. Workshop participants will learn the basics of how to put together financing to house formerly homeless individuals—whether you are developing five units or 105.
Icon
Conference Presentation | July 10, 2007
Put together a few tenant based vouchers, a consumer oriented service team, a Housing First philosophy, and what do you have? A powerful strategy for ending homelessness for people with serious mental illness and substance use disorders. Pioneered by the Pathways to Housing Program in New York, this Housing First strategy has been successfully replicated in dozens of cities. Workshop speakers described some of the challenges they encountered and how they implemented a successful Housing First program targeting chronically homeless individuals.