SR-302-008
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City Council Report
City Council Meeting: November 14, 2006
Agenda Item: ...sc..
To:
Mayor and City Council
From:
Martin Kennerly, Acting Director, Resource Management
Subject:
Senior Homeless Prevention and Rental Assistance Program Eligibility
Criteria
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the eligibility criteria and program
services outlined in this report for the Senior Homeless Prevention and Rental
Assistance Program.
Executive Summary
The City Council approved $1.34 million of funds from the Low/Moderate Income
Housing Redevelopment Fund for the Senior Homeless Prevention and Rental
Assistance Program on June 26, 2006 when it approved the Santa Monica 2006-07
Budget. Section 33449 of the California Health and Safety Code allows for the provision
of rental subsidies. At that time, staff stated that program details would be brought back
to the City Council for approval.
Under the program, rental assistance would be provided to very-low income homeless
seniors, 55 years old and older, who have participated, for a minimum of one year, in a
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case management program, including the Chronic Homeless Program, that documents
their Santa Monica residency. This population is being proposed because it is generally
the most vulnerable of the homeless population in the areas of personal safety and
disease.
The program would also provide a one-time $2,000 homelessness prevention grant to
Santa Monica households headed by someone 55 years old and older, which are in
imminent danger of becoming homeless. Participants in both program components will
be required to receive case management services in order to be eligible for the
program. The program will be a component of Santa Monica's homeless continuum of
care and will use the existing inter-agency and inter-divisional structure currently used in
the Chronic Homeless Program to refer applicants for services.
Discussion
During the 2006-07 budget study session, staff informed the City Council that it would
present the Senior Homeless Prevention and Rental Assistance program in two stages,
the first stage being the budget request stage, and the second stage being the program
design stage. Funds from the Low/Moderate Income Housing Redevelopment Fund,
normally used for affordable housing loans, would be used for a rent subsidy program,
including administrative costs. Use of these funds also permits a local preference. The
program design of the Senior Homeless Prevention and Rental Assistance Program
was developed by the Housing Authority with the assistance of Human Services staff
and representatives from the Santa Monica Legal Aid office, St. Joseph Center, Ocean
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Park Community Center (OPPC), and the Chronic Homeless Pilot Project executive
steering committee. At the budget study session, staff described the program as a 5-6
year pilot project with the long term fiscal goal of securing other public funding for the
program. In addition, staff will also explore transitioning program participants to the
Section 8 or HOME rental assistance programs.
The need for the rental assistance component of the program is based on staff analysis
of the Coordinated Case Management (CCM) client database that documents that there
remains a large unmet housing need for additional rental assistance vouchers in order
to meet the needs of homeless clients, 55 years and older. The senior homeless
population was selected by City staff because of its vulnerability to safety risks, and,
most importantly, because of its vulnerability to disease. A recent 14 year study of
homeless people in San Francisco, conducted by researchers at the University of
California, San Francisco, found that homelessness exacerbates the physical problems
that come with growing old, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
As of June 30, 2006, there were 246 homeless CCM clients 55 years of age and older
who had been receiving City funded homeless services for one to five plus years. Fifty-
five per cent (135) have received City funded homeless services for more than three
years. As Table #1 shows, these 246 homeless persons generally exhibit a wide range
of disabling conditions including severe mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse and
chronic homelessness. In addition, 53 are veterans and 137 are chronically homeless.
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Table #1
CCM Documented 1 to 5 plus Years in
Condition CCM as of 6/30/06
Severe Mentally III 105
Alcohol 50
Drug Abuse 45
Dual Diagnosis 46
T olal 246
Meetings between City staff and community-based agency staff have made it apparent
that there is an increasing unmet need to add a homeless prevention component to the
RDA Senior Homeless Rental Assistance program. All three participating agencies
(Legal Aid, OPCC and S1. Joseph Center) reported an increasing number of Santa
Monica seniors who are either being evicted from or moving from their apartments
because of a financial crisis in their lives, predominantly related to medical expenses. In
addition, the 2000 Census documents that there are 1,932 Santa Monica residents, age
55 years old and older, who have incomes at, or below, the poverty line. They constitute
the largest pool of Santa Monica residents who may require prevention assistance.
Based on case by case management assessments done by a participating agency, one-
time emergency wants of up to $2,000 will be provided for homelessness prevention.
Recipients must demonstrate that they have no other resources or assistance available,
and, subsequent to the receipt of prevention assistance, that the household's income
will be sufficient to retain its housing. If a household at imminent risk of homelessness
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cannot afford to remain in its current apartment, assistance would be available to
identify an affordable housing unit and to re-house the household. All prevention
assistance requests would be channeled through the Human SeNices Division's
Flexible Fund grant process, and would utilize the existing Human SeNices committee
structure to process requests for assistance.
Commission Action
Both the Housing Commission and the Social SeNices Commission have reviewed and
approved the Senior Homeless Prevention and Rental Assistance Program. The
Housing Commission did so at its July 21, 2006 meeting while the Social SeNices
Commission did so at its September 25, 2006 meeting.
Alternatives
The City Council could choose to direct City staff to target and prioritize a different
group of homeless people to be eligible for both the rental assistance and the
prevention components of the program or could decide not to approve the prevention
component of the program.
Budaet/Financiallmpact
The City Council approved the operational budget for the Senior Homeless Prevention
and Rental Assistance Program on June 26, 2006 as part of the City's FY 2006-07
budget. All funds will be drawn from the Low/Moderate Income Housing Redevelopment
Fund. Rental assistance and homelessness prevention funding in the amount of
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$1,200,000 is budgeted at account number 15695.577260, and administrative costs are
budgeted at account number 15695.578150, in the amount of $140,000.
Prepared by:
Bob Moncrief, Housing Division Manger
Approved: Forwarded to Council:
Martin Kenne y
Acting Director, Resources anagement
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