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Supportive Housing Existing Services Semcac is a community action agency that provides various services related to supportive housing. The following chart illustrates the number of individuals and households in Freeborn County that have been assisted with various programs through Semcac to either prevent homelessness or assist households that have become homeless to secure housing. The following data was from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005. Data for the RHASP program is from June 1, 2005 through February 24, 2006.
Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance (FHPAP) funds are available to provide short-term assistance with rent or mortgage payments to prevent homelessness. Semcac also operates the Rural Housing Assistance and Stability Program (RHASP) which are used to provide information, referral, advocacy, and assistance with first month’s rent and/or security deposits. Other assistance that is available through Semcac includes utility assistance and budgeting assistance.
Semcac also operates the Freeborn County Homeless Shelter which provides three units for families with children. Residents can stay up to 90 days and Semcac works with households to provide supportive services that assist in securing permanent housing and transitioning back into the community. Semcac does not have hotel/motel vouchers available to serve Freeborn County which makes the shelter an essential facility for providing a short term emergency shelter option for the area.
Another key provider of supportive services in the community is the Albert Lea Salvation Army. The agency provides a wealth of services to the area. Hotel/motel vouchers are available to assist with emergency shelter with assistance rarely extending beyond 30 days. The agency operates a local food shelf and thrift store and provides assistance with utilities, furniture, clothing, budgeting, prescriptions, and transportation. The Salvation Army also offers numerous programs including an after school program for at risk students, a summer day camp, back to school supply program, Thanksgiving basket program, and Christmas assistance. The agency also provides rental assistance to prevent homelessness and assist with first months rent to secure permanent housing for households.
The Department of Human Services is currently reviewing applications through an RFP to fund support services for persons experiencing long-term homelessness and living in supportive housing. Freeborn County is part of an application that was submitted in partnership with seven other counties to request funds through the initiative. Crisis housing funds through the Minnesota Housing Partnership are available statewide to provide short-term housing assistance to persons with a serious and persistent mental illness when their income is being utilized to pay for inpatient psychiatric treatment of 90 days or less. Bridges is a program which provides a housing subsidy for persons with a serious and persistent mental illness as a gap until they are able to access a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher. Freeborn County does not have an existing Bridges program. The County could investigate the possibility of seeking funds for the County or joining another collaborative such as the Olmsted and Steele County collaborative. The next funding round for the program is Spring 2007.
Major changes continue in the mental health services system across Minnesota with the transition to a community based model. Some of the major changes occurring in the South Central Community Based Initiative (SCCBI) related to Freeborn County in 2005 include:
At the local level, numerous efforts have been undertaken that refine and expand mental health services. The Next Step Clubhouse continues to provide services, consumer choice for ARMHS programs has been expanded, Cedar House will be developing a group for dually diagnosed consumers, and additional nursing staff to support psychiatric services and provide additional outreach.
Gaps Interviews were conducted with area committees and agencies that provide supportive services to the Albert Lea area. It was noted that the area does have a supply of rental units available which is confirmed by the vacancy rates, however the affordability for households if they are unable to secure a housing voucher is a larger issue. Therefore a priority should be to incorporate permanent supportive housing options into existing units verses the development of new units to meet this need. In addition, this recommendation is supported by the Southeast Regional Plan to End Long-term Homelessness whereby it states that new and rehabilitated units should be located in hub counties of Olmsted, Blue Earth, Steele, Goodhue, Winona, and Rice and the spoke counties should largely rely on rental assistance to keep families close to their support systems.
With Semcac providing an emergency shelter in the community, the HRA could explore the opportunity to seek Shelter plus Care funds through HUD to provide rental assistance to households that are homeless and transitioning to permanent housing from the shelter. These funds are especially useful in areas where waiting lists exist for the Housing Choice Voucher program to provide a faster transition into permanent housing. However, funding in the Southeast Continuum of Care is highly competitive with many area projects seeking funding to renew existing projects.
Another option would be to incorporate permanent supportive housing units through leasing. A program frequently used for this option is the Supportive Housing Program which is also through HUD. Shelter plus Care however is often viewed as a better option than the Supportive Housing Program as the funding does not keep up with the Fair Market Rents to the extent that Shelter plus Care does. This can result in program gaps over time and the potential need to decrease the number of units assisted. As previously mentioned funding for new and existing programs is highly competitive in the Southeast Continuum of Care. This could be accomplished through either the HRA or local nonprofit groups, provided the units being leased are not owned by the applicant.
The Southeast Continuum of Care is a locally driven collaborative whereby the group defines local resources available, gaps in services and housing, and strategies to meet needs. A Continuum of Care plan (Exhibit 1) is developed each year as part of the process and the local continuum reviews and ranks projects that are seeking funding from HUD. This is a year round process that culminates with the submission of the Exhibit One and applications to HUD. The application deadline varies each year but is usually due between May through June of each year. However the planning process with the continuum must start well before these deadlines as pre-applications are often required and coordination with the continuum on new projects is necessary.
Finally, legislative efforts will be underway in 2006 that will look to secure $10 million in bonding for the development and rehabilitation of transitional housing. Currently Albert Lea does not have an transitional housing units that provide the transition from emergency shelters and vouchers which limit stays to under 90 days and the ability to secure permanent housing. With bonding the units would have to be owned by the HRA or another public body. |