PART IV: Descriptions of Programs Included in the SuperNOFA
Targeted Housing and Homeless Assistance

Homelessness Assistance

The Continuum of Care is a comprehensive approach to assisting individuals and families to move from homelessness to independence and self-sufficiency. Understanding that homeless people have varying needs, the Continuum of Care provides a continuum of services allowing individuals to move from emergency shelter to transitional housing and then to permanent housing. Along the way, individuals in need of counseling and supportive services, job training and other social services are provided these opportunities so that root causes of homelessness are addressed. Funding for Continuum of Care approaches is provided through three competitive programs: The Supportive Housing Program (SHP), Moderated Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy (SRO) program; and Shelter Plus Care (S+C). In addition to the programs in the SuperNOFA, the Continuum of Care is also supported through one formula grant program, the Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) program. In 1999, the Continuum of Care approach to assisting homeless individuals and families to become self-sufficient received the Innovations In Government Award sponsored by the Ford Foundation and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Continuum of Care—Supportive Housing Program. SHP helps homeless people live as independently as possible by facilitating the development of housing and related supportive services for people moving from homelessness to independent living. SHP funds States, local governments, other government agencies (such as PHAs), and nonprofit organizations providing housing and supportive services for the homeless. SHP supports five types of program designs:

• Transitional housing, which helps homeless people move to permanent housing.
• Permanent housing for homeless people with disabilities.
• Safe havens—24-hour supportive housing that serves hard-to-reach homeless people with severe mental illness.
• Supportive services for homeless people not living in supportive housing.
• Other types of innovative supportive housing for homeless people.

Supportive services include child care, employment assistance, outpatient health services, case management, assistance in locating and accessing permanent housing, help to get employment, nutritional counseling, security arrangements, and help to obtain other assistance. SHP funds may be used to:

• Acquire land for a homeless facility.
• Build, rehabilitate, or lease housing for homeless persons.
• Pay for new or increased supportive services for homeless people.
• Cover day-to-day operating expenses of supportive housing.
• Pay administrative expenses.

   Program Office: Community Planning and Development

Continuum of Care—Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Program for Homeless Individuals. Section 8 SRO is designed to ensure an adequate supply of SRO units for the provision of housing for the homeless. This program provides funding to public housing agencies and private nonprofits for rental assistance for homeless individuals who rent rehabilitated SRO units. The rental assistance is paid to owners of the rehabilitated units in the form of monthly rental subsidies. A portion of the subsidy covers the normal rental assistance that would be paid on behalf of the person occupying the unit under the Section 8 SRO program. The rest of the subsidy can be used by the owner to help offset the monthly debt service on the rehabilitation financing. Occupants of the rehabilitated units must otherwise be eligible for Section 8 rental assistance.

    Program Office: Community Planning and Development

Continuum of Care—Shelter Plus Care (S+C). S+C is designed to ensure supportive housing opportunities for homeless people with disabilities and their families, primarily those who are seriously mentally ill; have chronic problems with alcohol, drugs, or both; or have HIV/AIDS. It accomplishes this by providing funding to States, local governments, and public housing agencies to be used to provide rental assistance for homeless people with disabilities and their families. Four types of rental assistance are available: (1) tenant-based, (2) project-based (contracted with a building owner), (3) sponsor-based (contracted with a nonprofit organization), and (4) single-room occupancy-based. Grantees must match the rental assistance with supportive services that are at least equal in value to the amount of HUD's rental assistance.

   Program Office: Community Planning and Development

Elderly

Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly. The Section 202 program is designed to enable very low-income elderly persons (62 years or older) to live independently by increasing the supply of rental housing with supportive services. The program provides interest-free capital advances to private, nonprofit organizations to construct or rehabilitate rental housing with supportive services for very low-income elderly. The advance remains interest-free and need not be repaid as long as the housing remains available for very low-income elderly people for at least 40 years. The program also provides rental assistance for project residents. Residents pay 30 percent of their adjusted gross income in rent while Section 202 pays the difference between the monthly approved operating cost and the rent received from the tenant.

    Program Office: Housing

Persons with Disabilities

Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons With Disabilities. The Section 811 program is designed to enable very low-income persons with disabilities to live independently by increasing the supply of rental housing with supportive services. The program provides interest-free capital advances to nonprofit organizations to construct or rehabilitate rental housing with supportive services if necessary, for very low-income persons with disabilities who are at least 18 years old. The advance remains interest-free and need not be repaid as long as the housing remains available for very low-income persons with disabilities for at least 40 years. The program also provides rental assistance for project residents. Residents pay 30 percent of their adjusted gross income in rent while Section 811 pays the difference between the monthly approved operating cost and the rent received from the tenant.

    Program Office: Housing

Section 8 Mainstream Program. The purpose of the Section 8 Mainstream Program is to enable very low-income persons with disabilities to rent affordable private housing of their choice. The Mainstream Program provides public housing agencies with funding for rental vouchers for persons with disabilities.

   Program Office: Public and Indian Housing

Section 8 Designated Housing Plans. The purpose of the Section 8 Designated Housing program is to provide private market housing alternatives for non-elderly disabled families. The program provides funding for rental vouchers to public housing agencies to use in meeting the housing needs of persons with disabilities who would have been housed by the public housing agencies if occupancy in the designated public housing project were not restricted to elderly households. It also provides funding for rental vouchers to public housing agencies that continue to designate their buildings as "mixed" housing for both elderly and disabled persons, but can demonstrate a need for alternative resources for persons with disabilities. The public housing agency must demonstrate that the need for such resources is consistent with Consolidated Plan and low-income housing needs of the jurisdiction where the authority operates.

    Program Office: Public and Indian Housing

Section 8 for Certain Types of Project-Based and Insured Developments. The purpose of this program is to provide Section 8 rental vouchers to non-elderly disabled families who are not currently receiving housing assistance in certain Section 8 project-based developments due to the owners establishing preferences for the admission of elderly families, or in certain types of Section 202, Section 221(d)(3), or Section 236 developments where the owners are restricting occupancy in the developments (or portions thereof) to elderly families. The rental vouchers will enable non-elderly disabled families to rent affordable housing.

    Program Office: Public and Indian Housing

Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA)—Competitive. HOPWA is designed to provide housing assistance and supportive services for low-income people with HIV/AIDS and their families. Ninety percent of HOPWA funds are awarded through a formula and made available through the Consolidated Planning process. The remaining 10 percent is awarded through a competition. The competitive portion of HOPWA provides funds to States and local governments and qualified nonprofits. Funding may be used for a range of activities including housing information services; resource identification; project or tenant-based rental assistance; short term rent, mortgage, and utility payments to prevent homelessness; housing and development operations; and supportive services. Applicants may submit one of two types of applications: 1) Long-term Comprehensive Strategies or 2) Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS). Long-term Comprehensive Strategies applications propose provision of housing and services in areas that did not qualify for the formula portion of HOPWA. SPNS applications propose the development and operation of model or innovative programs that can be replicated in other communities.

    Program Office: Community Planning and Development