Download PDF RoadmapCommon Challenges and Solutions
Maximizing PHA Partnerships
Challenge:
PHAs are often independent or quasi-governmental entities that do not always report to the state and therefore may not be in alignment with the state's objectives. PHAs are also overwhelmed with requests to prioritize various populations within limited resources.
Why It Matters:
PHAs own and administer the vast majority of federal subsidies for low-income housing. The tenant- and project-based vouchers may be used to house the target population if the PHA is able and willing to make changes.
Potential Solutions:
- Determine the PHA's board structure. Board members may be appointed by the governor;
- Determine whether the PHA is part of a government agency. Sometimes state or city housing agencies also function as PHAs, in which case their work may be more closely aligned with the governor's or mayor's objectives;
- Determine the dynamics among the governor, the PHA board and the mayor or county council; and
- A statewide PHA may be able to rapidly implement changes, and some HFAs also function as a PHA.
Subsidizing Rents
Challenge:
Federal funding for rental assistance programs has been dwindling in recent years. Most PHAs have waiting lists that are several years long. Therefore, many PHAs rely on turnover to get wait-listed people housed. In addition, to meet budget cuts, some PHAs have had to reduce costs related to property management and maintenance to keep tenants housed.
Why It Matters:
Vouchers to pay the rent on the units provided—whether for a single-site or scattered-site project—are essential to funding supportive housing. Supportive housing cannot be created without rental subsidies. In addition, the federal government provides PHAs with flexibility to prioritize certain populations based on the community's needs. The case management that Medicaid can offer helps landlords to keep tenants stably housed.
Potential Solutions:
- Engage the local HUD field office;
- Implement PSH limited preference;
- Tap into unused special-purpose vouchers;
- Project-base existing tenant-based vouchers;
- Revamp the PHA's system of preferences; and
- Create a state-funded rental subsidy program or leverage an existing one.
Finding Housing Stock
Why It Matters:
Access to a sufficient stock of affordable housing is critical to the success of the scattered-site model of permanent supported housing (PSH), without which there are no units to house this population.
Potential Solutions:
- Engage the state HFA to identify tax credit unit set-asides for low-income individuals;
- Engage landlords to encourage participation in tenant-based rental subsidy programs; and
- Use creative state, HFA and local financing to build more affordable housing or convert existing units to affordable housing. For example, work with a local foundation that provides a grant to the HFA for capital housing expenditures. This grant would be provided by the HFA to a local developer. In exchange for the grant, the local developer would agree to provide a portion of the rental units (e.g., 10 percent) at below-market rates (e.g., subsidized) as part of a supportive housing program.
Community Engagement
Challenge:
In the past, some emergency shelters created a highly visible presence of homeless individuals on nearby streets and sidewalks, leading many communities to believe that PSH may have the same impact on their streets.
Why It Matters:
Without community buy-in, most projects are not financially or politically viable.
Potential Solutions:
- Engage communities early, and include them in the process so that they have a say in the final development; and
- Communicate details to stakeholders and educate residents on this population's needs.