Florida Supportive Housing Coalition, January 2002 Newsletter

1. The Need For A Statewide Coalition
2. The Importance of Supportive Housing: A Message From The President
3. Supportive Housing Coalitions: A Blueprint For Success
4. Four Components of Supportive Housing Funding
5. Meet The Officers and Directors
6. State Office on Homelessness Announces 2002 Grants
7. More Funding Updates
8. Join The Coalition Today
9. We'd Like To Hear From You

The Need For A Statewide Coalition

With the growing evidence of how effective supportive housing can be for people with special needs, housing and service providers are joining forces with advocates in Florida to speak with one voice.

While we may serve different populations, we all recognize that supportive housing is the proven solution for stabilizing and housing people with special needs.

We also realize that together we have a wealth of knowledge and experience.  As such we can be a vital resource to communities just beginning to create supportive housing.  Further, we can work together to educate our state and local leaders about supportive housing.

By working together to ensure supportive housing is available to all who need it, we will have a positive impact on their lives while making significant positive changes in the social and economic structures of our state and our communities.

It is for these reasons we have formed the Florida Supportive Housing Coalition.

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The Importance of Supportive Housing: A Message From The President

Anyone who works with a special needs population knows that a safe, affordable place to live, coupled with a customized support network of services, opens the doors to independence, work, relationships, participation in the community — in short, a full happy life. Instead of being a burden to their families and to society, individuals can become contributing members.

Special needs populations include low income, frail elders, people with physical and developmental disabilities, victims of violence, those with physical and mental illness, and people who are homeless. 

In 1998, the Affordable Housing Study Commission estimated the shortfall of housing for people with disabilities at 117,703. In addition, there were 115,000 farm workers and 62,000 homeless on any given night. At least 13 percent of all elderly households would benefit from this type of housing. 

In 2001, there were 3.6 million people 60 years and older living in Florida. Of these, 12.7 percent were living below the poverty level and 5.3 percent had a mobility or self-care limitation. 

In its November/December 2001 issue, Shelterforce, the National Housing Institute reports “Special needs populations are on the rise. Predictable changes in the age profile of the population will drive increases in young adults, seniors and the disabled. The number of homeless and those at risk of homelessness are also poised to grow as the safety net weakens and the gap between minimum wage and housing costs widens.”

Those who learn about the benefits of supportive housing wonder why there isn’t more of it. After all, supportive housing is good news for everyone who pays taxes. More and more studies document that supportive housing is not only better for the individual and the community — it is cheaper than the usual alternatives of institutionalization and emergency responses to crisis.

We must deliver the message that our collective resources, now allocated through narrow, specialized channels, must be reorganized and redirected to provide supportive housing to all who need it.

As we set about putting together a mailing list of organizations with an interest in supportive housing, we were amazed how many there are! Our mailing list exceeds 1,000 organizations — and we are just getting started.

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Supportive Housing Coalitions: A Blueprint For Success

At the first board meeting of the Florida Supportive Housing Coalition, several representatives of the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) joined us by conference call to share an overview of how similar coalitions have operated in other states.

Connecticut
Janice Elliot from the Connecticut office of CSH told how her state first targeted Services funding. As a result of a strong advocacy effort, proponents secured a legislative appropriation of $5 million to serve 570 people with mental health and substance abuse issues. With this service commitment from the state, they were then able to leverage operating subsidies through U.S. HUD homeless programs. 

In Connecticut, supportive housing has one single process, one set of guidelines, and one place to apply. Tax credits and Federal Home Loan Bank financing are used to bridge funding gaps, with tax credits covering up to half of all development costs.

New Jersey
Liza Nolan of the New Jersey office of CSH shared how in 1993 and 1994, New Jersey had a new governor, a state mental hospital was slated for closing, and CSH convened some partners to discuss supportive housing needs. The Supportive Housing Association (SHA) of New Jersey was created by mental health providers who saw a need for housing opportunities for their clients. 
Today, SHA of New Jersey is meeting the challenge of another state hospital closing. They’re also working on ways to comply with the Olmstead ruling that people with disabilities have a right to live in the least restrictive, most integrated community setting appropriate to their needs.

Minnesota
In Minnesota, a booming economy has led to a housing vacancy rate of less than one percent. Jonathan Farmer, director of the Minnesota Supportive Housing Consortium, described how the coalition is just getting started in the midst of this housing affordability crisis.
The Consortium, mostly made up of service providers, is dealing with the “culture clash” of combining the professional expertise of service and housing providers. Focusing for now on the Twin Cities, the group advocates directly for specific projects, supporting each through the city approval process.

Illinois
Janet Hasz, director of the Supportive Housing Providers Association of Illinois, talked about the progress of her organization in becoming a statewide advocate for the industry. Begun in 1995 as a Chicago-focused coalition, the group expanded statewide in June 2000 to become a more effective voice in the state legislative funding process.

Illinois’ coalition has engaged the University of Pennsylvania researchers who completed the groundbreaking study of the effectiveness of supportive housing in New York City to design a similar study in Illinois. The research will begin by creating an automated tenant registry statewide to track residents’ outcomes. Later phases of the study may include replicating the New York study.

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Four Components of Supportive Housing Funding

There are four types of funding common to Supportive Housing projects: Services, Operating, Capital and Pre-Development. 

Services are the most difficult to fund. While “in-kind” agreements help in some cases, residents require on-site case management, referrals and other services beyond what can be provided “in kind.” 

Operating support or rental subsidies are the next biggest challenge, as affordability issues are common to most metropolitan areas. Projects require a pool of operating reserves to manage the property. Often equity from Low Income Housing Tax Credits can be used for this purpose.

Capital support affects those who build or rehabilitate their developments. While gap financing is available, there is a real need for greater primary financing from private sources.

Pre-Development funding is a necessity. This is a role that philanthropic sources can play for cash-strapped nonprofits.

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Meet The Officers and Directors

The Board of Directors elected the following people as the first officers of the Florida Supportive Housing Coalition. 

Maria Pellerin Barcus, executive director of Carrfour Corporation, was elected President. Rev. R. F. Langford of Liberty Center for the Homeless was elected Vice President. Pat McNamara, director of supportive housing for the Housing Partnership, Inc. was elected Secretary. Kathy Spearman, president & CEO of Volunteers of America of Florida, was elected Treasurer. 

Members of the initial Board of Directors include: Dr. Gene Copello, executive director of Florida AIDS Action; Mark Engelhardt, faculty of University of South Florida, Florida Mental Health Institute; Edi Erb, division director of Mental Health Care, Inc.; Greg Mellowe, executive director of Florida Coalition for the Homeless; Melvin Philpot, chairperson of Florida Housing Coalition; Ed Thomas, procurement officer for the Palatka Housing Authority; and Wendy Tippett, assistant executive director of Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches. Susan Parks, affordable housing specialist at the Department of Elder Affairs is serving as an ex officio member of the Board.

Each officer and director will serve a one-year term of office expiring on December 31, 2002. This will allow the membership to elect directors at the organization’s first Annual Membership Meeting which will be held in the fall of 2002. Directors will be elected to one, two or three year terms of office. The Directors will then elect the officers for 2003.

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State Office on Homelessness Announces 2002 Grants

Homeless Housing Assistance Grants will provide funding to lead agencies to construct new or rehabilitate existing transitional or permanent housing units for homeless persons. The project to be funded must be included in the local homeless continuum of care plan for the catchment areas in which the project is located. Those units constructed or rehabilitated with the grant must be reserved at least 10 years for people who are homeless at the time of initial tenancy;

Continuum of Care “Challenge Grants” will provide support grants for the local homeless continuum of care systems. The funds may be used for homelessness prevention, outreach, emergency shelter, supportive services, transitional housing, and permanent housing.

For more information, please contact the Office on Homelessness, Department of Children and Families, 1317 Winewood Blvd., Building 2, Room 103-A, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0700, or call 850-922-4691.

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More Funding Updates

Florida Housing Finance Corp.
The FHFC Board has approved the application process for Single Room Occupancy (SRO) developments for its 2002 cycle. Approximately $3 million has been set aside for projects dedicating at least 80% of their units for homeless households. We expect the applications to be available in mid-March to be submitted in April. 

2002 HUD SuperNOFA 
HUD announced the results of its 2002 SuperNOFA last month. Projects in the state of Florida received a record $48.7 million in awards for this year. 

Ryan White Act & HOPWA 
Florida AIDS Action announced significant funding increases for the 2001-02 budget affecting both HOPWA and Ryan White CARE Act programs. HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS) increased funding by $20 million. The Ryan White CARE Act had its funding increased by $103 million.

Florida’s Olmstead Grant
The State of Florida was awarded $2 million over a three-year period to improve community support systems for people with disabilities or long-term illness. The grant will support: an interagency systems change team, one-stop information access and three demonstration projects. The ADA Working Group, of the Florida Department of Management Services, is administering the project. 

Look for funding updates in future issues of this newsletter.

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Join The Coalition Today

Join the Florida Supportive Housing Coalition today and enjoy these member benefits:

	Quarterly Newsletters
	Vote in all elections
	Serve on committees and task forces
	Inclusion in all advocacy and education activities
	Use of the Coalition logo on your printed materials and web page

Simply complete and return the enclosed membership application together with your annual dues payment. 

Become a “Founder” 
Join the Coalition in 2002 with a one-time investment of $1,000 and your organization will be listed as a “Founder” on the Coalition web site, stationery and all printed materials. Your first year of membership is included with your founder’s contribution.

Next Meeting: 
January 24, 10:00-2:00 at the Florida Coalition for the Homeless in Orlando, FL

For more information call Jennifer Connors, 305-371-8300 ext. 22. 

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We'd Like To Hear From You

This is our first newsletter and we’d like your ideas, comments and suggestions so that future issues meet your needs.

Please send us an e-mail and let us know what would make this newsletter more meaningful to you.

Write to us at: info@flshc.org

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Copyright © 2003, Florida Supportive Housing Coalition. All rights reserved.
Revised: May 02, 2005 .