EveryOne Home - Ending Homelessness in Alameda County


The Plan: Initiatives

EveryOne Home Summary of HPRP Federal Guidelines

Congress has designated $1.5 billion for the creation of the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP).  HPRP is focused on housing for homeless and at-risk households.  It will provide temporary financial assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services to individuals and families who are homeless or would be homeless but for this assistance.

Eligible Activities
Eligible activities are intentionally focused on housing-either financial assistance to help pay for housing, or services designed to keep people in housing or to find housing.

Generally, the intent of HPRP assistance is to rapidly transition program participants to stability, either through their own means or through public assistance, as appropriate.

HPRP assistance is not intended to provide long-term support for program participants, nor will it be able to address all of the financial and supportive services needs of households that affect housing stability. Rather assistance should be focused on housing stabilization, linking program participants to community resources and mainstream benefits, and helping them develop a plan for preventing future housing instability.

Financial Assistance
Financial assistance is limited to the following activities:

  • Rental assistance (may be full or shallow subsidies and may be graduated/declining)
    • short-term rental assistance (may not exceed rental costs accrued over a period of three months)
    • medium-term rental assistance (may not exceed rental costs accrued over four to 18 months)
    • rent arrears (not more than 6 months arrearage)
  • security deposits
  • utility deposits
  • utility payments (for up to 18 months and up to 6 months arrearages)
  • moving cost assistance –includes truck rental, moving assistance and up to 3 months storage
  • motel and hotel vouchers

Grantees and subgrantees must not make payments directly to program participants , but only to third parties, such as landlords or utility companies. In addition, an assisted property may not be owned by the grantee, subgrantee or the parent, subsidiary or affiliated organization of the subgrantee.

Housing Relocation and Stabilization Services
HPRP funds may be used for services that assist program participants with housing stability and placement. These services are limited to the following eligible activities:

  • Case management –arrangement, coordination, monitoring and delivery of services related to meeting the housing needs of program participants
  • Outreach and engagement – publicizing the program(s)
  • Housing search and placement – assistance locating, obtaining and retaining housing
  • Legal services – legal services to help  people stay in their rental homes
  • Credit repair –budgeting, money managements and resolving credit issues

Ineligible and Prohibited Activities
The following activities are prohibited uses of HPRP funds:

  • child care and employment training
  • mortgage costs
  • construction or rehabilitation
  • credit card bills or other consumer debt
  • car repair or other transportation costs
  • travel costs
  • food
  • medical or dental care and medicines
  • clothing and grooming
  • home furnishings
  • pet care
  • entertainment activities
  • work or education related materials
  • cash assistance to program participants

Eligible Program Participants
Grantees should consider serving two eligible populations with HPRP funds: persons who are
still housed but at risk of becoming homeless and persons who are already homeless.

Requirements for All Program Participants
In order to receive financial assistance or services funded by HPRP, individuals and families- whether homeless or housed-must at least meet the following minimum criteria:

  • Any individual or family provided with financial assistance through HPRP must have at least an initial consultation with a case manager or other authorized representative who can determine the appropriate type of assistance to meet their needs. HUD encourages communities to have a process in place to refer persons ineligible for HPRP to the appropriate resources or service provider that can assist them.
  • The household must be at or below 50 percent of Area Median Income (AMI).
  • The household must be either homeless or at risk of losing its housing and meet both of the following circumstances:

(1) no appropriate subsequent housing options have been identified;
AND
(2) the household lacks the financial resources and support networks needed to obtain immediate housing or remain in its existing housing.

Prevention Assistance
HUD strongly encourages grantees and subgrantees to target prevention assistance to those individuals and families at the greatest risk of becoming homeless. It is helpful to remember that the defining question to ask is: "Would this individual or family be homeless but for this assistance?"

Rapid Re-Housing Assistance
Rapid re-housing assistance is available for persons who are homeless according to HUD’s definition. (Link: http://www.hud.gov/homeless/definition.cfm)

Timeline:

  • Final application from funded jurisdictions submitted to HUD on or before May 18, 2009.
  • HUD expedites review, completing all reviews not requiring additional information from the grantee by July 2, 2009.
  • Summer 2009, jurisdictional grantees select service providers/ sub-grantees
  • Grantee signs agreements with sub-grantees by September 30, 2009
  • Grantee expends 60 percent of grant funds within 2 years of the date that HUD signed the grant agreement.  Funds may be recaptured and reallocated if not spent.
  • Grantee expends 100 percent of grant funds within 3 years of the date HUD signed the grant agreement.  Funds will be recaptured if not spent.

Resources

For more information view the full HUD guidelines

Download a PDF of the Homelessness Prevention in Alameda County: Phase 1 Report