Permanent Housing
The ultimate
goal for all people experiencing homelessness is to secure and retain permanent
housing. Permanent housing strategies offer individuals and families short- or
long-term rental subsidies in combination with varied levels of supportive
services, as some may require permanent supportive housing, while those with
lower needs may be successful in rapid re-housing programs.
The Permanent Supportive Housing Program (Strategy D7) provides individuals and families experiencing long-term homelessness with supportive housing by funding high quality tenant services and, when needed, local rental subsidies.
Significant outcomes for this program (as seen in the graph below) include:
- In the first six months of fiscal year 2018-2019, 2,843 individuals were linked to Intensive Case Management Services (ICMS), the supportive services that enable them to retain housing.
- Between July 2018 and December 2018, 986 individuals were approved for federal rental subsidies and 545 individuals were approved for local rental subsidies, which will enable them to pay the rent once housed.
- In the first 18 months of implementation, 2,313 people were placed in Measure H-funded permanent supportive housing. A subset of these were previously housed utilizing a different subsidy.
Rapid Re-Housing (Strategy B3) provides individuals and families experiencing homelessness with time-limited rental subsidies and supportive services, enabling them to quickly secure housing and pay their rent until they are able to cover the costs on their own.
Rapid re-housing programs enrolled 6,270 individuals and family members in the first six months of fiscal year 2018/2019 and are currently serving 17,148 individuals and family members. More than 2,600 individuals and family members have been placed in permanent housing with a rapid rehousing subsidy. Over the past six months, 1,483 individuals and family members whose subsidies ended retained their housing or moved into other permanent housing.
The Homeless Incentive Program (HIP) (Strategy B4) helps homeless individuals and families who have federal housing subsidies to secure permanent supportive housing by incentivizing landlords to accept the subsidies and offering assistance with deposits and move-in costs.
In the first six months of fiscal year 2018-2019, tenants served by the Housing Authority of Los Angeles County (HACoLA), as well as housing authorities in the Cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Burbank, Glendale, Pomona, Redondo Beach, and Pasadena, have secured 621 units with the help of landlord incentives. The success of this program is fueled by the $780,476 in tenant deposits and $1,450,691 in landlord incentives that the County has funded since July 2018. The data below for fiscal year 2018-2019 includes outcomes from the housing authorities listed above; the data from fiscal year 2017-2018 reflects only HACoLA outcomes.
Elizabeth Hernandez: Family Embraces New Home
Elizabeth
Hernandez is a single mother of four children.
Not having a stable job affected her finances and ability to obtain daycare for
her children, factors that put her at
risk of being homeless.
Elizabeth
battles with stress and anxiety when
things do not seem to be working out.
The greatest challenge
she faced was locating a suitable home for her family in a safe area,
especially since she lacked income
to pay a security deposit and application fees.
Elizabeth
received supportive services through Los Angeles Family Housing, and with their
assistance, ultimately obtained a Section 8 voucher. Additionally, she utilized the housing locator services provided
through CDC/HACoLA’sHomeless Incentive Program (HIP).
Elizabeth
was very pleased with the efficiency
of the staff, the personal assistance
she received, and the availability of units through the HIP program. She
leased an apartment in June 2018.
“My
children and I are blessed to be in a safe, wonderful, new environment!”
- Elizabeth Hernandez
Innovative Solutions to Increase the Supply of Affordable Housing
The Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative partnered with the LA County Arts Commission to co-sponsor a design competition for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), sometimes called "granny flats." The County is also running a pilot program to incentivize development and rehabilitation of ADUs in the unincorporated areas of the County.