TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Ryan J. Alsop, County Executive Officer
REPORT BY: Jennifer Palmer, Director of Housing & Homeless Services
SUBJECT: Bay Area Housing Finance Authority Older-Adult Rental Assistance Pilot Program Award
RECOMMENDATION
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Director of Housing & Homeless Services to provide a presentation on the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) Older Adult Rental Assistance Pilot Program Grant award to Napa County in the amount of $5,000,000 to prevent homelessness and improve long-term housing stability for extremely-low income senior residents experiencing severe housing burden through June 2028.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On August 15, 2023, the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) released a request for proposals (RFP) seeking an eligible entity to design and administer an Older Adult Rental Assistance Pilot Program (Program) in one or more counties of the 9-county Bay Area Region. Napa County Department of Housing & Homeless Services (DHHS) worked collaboratively with a consortium of community-based organizations and public sector partners to design a four-year Program and service delivery model using grant funds and other existing braided funding sources. Napa County has been selected from a pool of qualified, competitive applicants, to launch and administer the pilot program.
PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS:
No Action Required
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
No |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
There is no mandate to receive this presentation. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
Future fiscal impacts will be budgeted in each fiscal year of the pilot program thought June 2028. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
Presentation will not be provided. |
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County Strategic Plan pillar addressed: |
Healthy, Safe, and Welcoming Place to Live, Work, and Visit |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) was created pursuant to the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Housing Finance Act (Gov Cod 64500, et seq.) (“the Act”) to raise, administer, and allocate funding and provide technical assistance at a regional level for tenant protection, affordable housing preservation, and new affordable housing production. Pursuant to Government Code 64520(j), BAHFA utilizes staff from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
The Act authorizes BAHFA to provide rental assistance for low-income residents of the Bay Area as part of its central mandate to protect vulnerable residents from displacement and homelessness in the Bay Area. On May 24, 2023, the MTC adopted Resolution 4578 granting $5 million to BAHFA to establish a new Rental Assistance Program to prevent homelessness. BAHFA then adopted Resolution 0030 on June 28, 2023, to authorize the use of these funds to create an Older Adult Rental Assistance Pilot Program.
On August 15, 2023, BAHFA released a request for proposals (RFP), seeking an eligible entity to finalize program design and administer an Older Adult Rental Assistance Pilot Program (Program) in one or more counties of the 9-county Bay Area Region. The Program will provide monthly rental assistance to extremely low-income and severely rent-burdened, older adult and fixed income households for up to 48 months. Statewide Point-in-Time (PIT) count data shows Seniors are the fastest growing homeless population of any age group, with a 108% increase between 2017-2020 in California. Among extremely low-income older adults, the cause of homelessness is most often a financial or health crisis. This pilot project will focus on the senior population because most financial assistance programs are designed for 12-24 months, with a focus on workforce development to stabilize household income. In the case of seniors, returning to work is not a likely or reasonable resolution to acute financial crisis.
Housing & Homeless Services staff worked collaboratively with a consortium of community-based organization and public sector partners to design a four-year Program and service delivery model using grant funds and other existing braided funding sources. On November 8, 2023, Napa County was selected among all proposals to receive the full $5 million to launch and administer the Program. The Program is designed to assist extremely low income, severely rent-burdened seniors in Napa County who are at imminent risk of experiencing homelessness by improving their long-term housing stability through guaranteed rental assistance.