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The Shelter Plus Care (S+C) program is one of the three Homeless Assistance programs that can be accessed through a competitive Continuum of Care application (the other two are the Supportive Housing Program and the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation SRO Programs). Together, these programs are effective ways for a Continuum of Care group to address the identified needs of individuals and families who are homeless in the community.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development began awarding Shelter Plus Care funds in 1992 to state and local governments and public housing agencies as a way to assist a population that has been traditionally hard to reach, homeless people with disabilities. The S+ C program targets homeless people with disabilities such as severe mental illness, chronic substance abuse, dual diagnoses (co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse), and/ or HIV/ AIDS.
Like the Continuum of Care concept, the S+C program builds on the premise that housing and services need to be linked in order to ensure stability of housing for this hard-to-serve population. Local S+ C grantees must, therefore, match the rental assistance provided by the program with an equal value of supportive services appropriate to the target population.
Local S+ C projects typically involve a partnership between the grantee agency, one or more housing sponsors, and a network of supportive services sponsors or providers. Together, the partners are responsible for the broad range of activities associated with providing housing and supportive services to homeless people with disabilities.
The kind of housing paid for by Shelter Plus Care combines low-rent housing with intensive support services and treatment. This model is generically referred to as permanent supportive housing. It has proven to have powerful impacts, ending homelessness for the most chronically homeless people with the most severe disabilities. It takes people who otherwise bounce from homeless shelters to the streets to emergency rooms to jails, people who most would be ready to give up on, and gives them tools they need to become working, contributing citizens, improving their lives dramatically while saving public funds in a range of emergency systems.
S + C Housing Components
Program grants are used for the provision of rental assistance payments through four components. The components are designed to give applicants flexibility in providing housing for homeless persons with disabilities, along with supportive services. With the exception of the SRO component where participants must reside in SRO or efficiency units, assisted units may be of any type, ranging from group homes to apartments. Further flexibility is allowed in that the applicant may design a program that has participants living for a while in a group setting with intensive supportive services then move to another setting, such as a shared apartment, and retain the rental assistance during the term of the grant.
Under all four S+C components, supportive services must be available to meet the needs of participants. These may be provided by the applicant, funded by the applicant but provided by a third party, or both funded and provided by a third party.
Sponsor-Based Rental Assistance (SRA) - Under the SRA component, an applicant may request grant funds to provide rental assistance through a contract(s) with a nonprofit organization(s), called a sponsor. The nonprofit organization may be a private nonprofit organization or a community mental health center established as a public nonprofit organization. The units to be used must be owned or leased by the sponsor.
Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TRA) - Under the TRA component, an applicant may request funds to provide rental assistance on behalf of program participants who choose their own housing units. If a participant decides to move, he or she may take their rental assistance to the new housing unit.
Project-Based Rental Assistance (PRA) - Under the PRA component, an applicant may request grant funds to provide rental assistance through a contract with a building owner(s). An applicant must enter into a contract with the building owner(s) for the full five- or ten-year period of assistance. The building owner must agree to accept eligible S+C participants for this time period. Participants must live in an assisted unit in a particular property.
Single Room Occupancy (SRO) - Under the SRO component, an applicant may request grant funds to provide rental assistance in an existing SRO setting. The units to be used must be in need of moderate rehabilitation. The rental assistance includes an allowance to pay for debt service to pay off the cost of the moderate rehabilitation over the ten-year grant period.
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