Impact of Proposed Changes to the Federal Housing Voucher Program on

Rebuilding Lives Supportive Housing in Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio

How does a Housing Voucher work?

 

A Voucher pays the property owner the difference between what a tenant can afford to pay and the reasonable rent for their apartment.  Most Vouchers are tenant-based which means that the Voucher follows the tenant.  A Housing Authority may elect to provide a portion of their Vouchers for “project-based” subsidies so that the Voucher is attached to the development.

 

What is Rebuilding Lives?

 

Led by the Community Shelter Board, the Rebuilding Lives plan is a five-year, two-pronged, approach to ending homelessness and literally “rebuilding lives.”  In July of 1999, the Community Shelter Board, with tremendous collaboration among providers and funders began implementing the Rebuilding Lives plan.  Based on this plan, short-term needs of homeless men are met through an improved safety net of emergency shelter and long-term needs are met through the development of 800 units of supportive housing.  Currently 457 units of supportive housing are operational and another 65 units are in the development process.

 

The Rebuilding Lives plan was recognized in a March 2, 2004 report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development entitled, Strategies for Reducing Chronic Street Homelessness.  The report complimented Columbus’ approach, noting “Rebuilding Lives is a comprehensive and ambitious initiative that represents a ‘paradigm shift’ in the community’s approach to homelessness.

 

The January 26, 2004 edition of the Christian Science Monitor recognized Columbus and the Community Shelter Board for its “bold approach to chronic homelessness" through the Rebuilding Lives plan.  The article noted that Columbus is “at the forefront of a trend gaining momentum in cities: housing the chronically homeless …as Columbus nears the end of a five-year plan to transform its strategy, the rest of the country is watching.”

 

How are Housing Vouchers (Section 8) used for Rebuilding Lives?

 

The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) as an active member of the Rebuilding Lives Funder Collaborative has provided both tenant-based and project-based Vouchers. 

	Total Units	# Using Vouchers	% Total
Operational
Cassady Avenue Apartments	11	11
East Fifth Avenue Apartments	38	38
North 22nd Street Apartments	30	30
North High Street Apartments	36	36
Parsons Avenue Apartments	25	25
RLPTI	80
Safe Haven Apartments	13
Scattered Site - Southeast	60	25
Sunshine Terrace Apartments	180
The Commons at Grant	100	100
YMCA Supportive Housing	70
	643	265	41%
Future Opening Date
Briggsdale	35	35
Chantry Place	80	80
	115	115	100%
Total Units	758	380	50%

 

What is the impact of the HUD FY04 administrative decision?

 

On April 22, 2004 the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a notice that made significant changes in its policy for Voucher administration. According to CMHA, the amount of Voucher funding that they will receive will be capped at a level below the current cost of providing Vouchers.  Because the new rule was retroactive to January 1, CMHA would have had to make even deeper cuts since it was midway through its fiscal year.  Without adequate funding, CMHA would not have been able to honor existent Rebuilding Lives commitments. Due to the recent announcement by Secretary Jackson that some additional funds will be awarded to several communities, including Columbus, the immediate crisis has been averted.

 

What is the potential impact of the Administration’s FY05-09 budget proposal for Housing Vouchers?

 

The President’s proposal is to cut the Voucher program in FY05 by $1.6 billion below what is needed to maintain 2004 services levels.  Deeper cuts are proposed for each year through FY09.  The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that CMHA would need to cut 2,832 families by FY09 from the Voucher program with 1,180 families being eliminated in FY05.  This represents a twenty-nine (29) and twelve (12) percent reduction respectively. 

 

With a declining base of Voucher funding, CMHA may be unable to provide Vouchers for the two Rebuilding Lives programs currently under development and slated to open by winter 2005-2006, Chantry Place and Briggsdale Apartments.  Chantry Place on the southeast side of Columbus at Chantry Drive, near the intersection of Brice Road, would provide a total of 100 apartment units, with 60 units in multiple buildings and 40 units in a single building for formerly homeless men and women.  Briggsdale Apartments on Harrisburg Pike in Columbus would provide 35 apartments units for men and women disabled by mental illness, substance addiction or dual diagnosis, many with histories of homelessness.

 

This would also portend that Vouchers would not be available for future Rebuilding Lives projects that would be needed to reach our community goal of 800 units.

 

How does this relate to the President’s initiative to end chronic homelessness?

 

These policy changes contradict the Administration’s stated goal of ending homelessness.  According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the Section 8 program is the best available tool for moving people out of homelessness and keeping them out.  Research by Marybeth Shinn showed that families with children leaving homelessness with a Section 8 voucher were 21 times more likely than families leaving homelessness without a voucher to be stably housed 5 years later.  Families that remained stably housed in subsidized housing included those with a history of mental illness, substance abuse, health problems and histories of incarceration.

 

The strategies of the Rebuilding Lives plan offer the best approaches to addressing chronic homelessness.  Without a fully funded voucher program, we will not be able to preserve and develop new permanent supportive housing.