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New Emergency Housing Vouchers Will Help 1,000 People in SF

Thanks to U.S. Department of Housing &Urban Development, SF can help up to 1,000 people in need of housing
By - posted 5/21/2021 No Comment

San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed recently announced that the City will receive 887 new Emergency Housing Vouchers to help prevent and end homelessness as part of the American Rescue Plan. Officials estimate the vouchers will be able to help up to 1,000 people in need of housing.

These vouchers are part of a nationwide push being made under the American Rescue Plan by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Secretary Marcia Fudge to provide 70,000 emergency housing vouchers to local public housing authorities across the country. The vouchers will assist individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness, fleeing or attempting to flee violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking, or were recently homeless or have a high risk of housing instability.

San Francisco’s housing authority has been provided 887 vouchers, which will be available July 1, 2021. This critical resource adds to San Francisco’s efforts to provide housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco, driven by Mayor Breed’s Homelessness Recovery plan, which is a two-year plan that will create 6,000 placements for people in housing, shelter and other alternatives, by July 2022.

Housing vouchers are subsidies, paid directly to the landlord on behalf of participating households. Households then pay the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program. The program will provide administrative fees to support Public Housing Agencies to address barriers to house people experiencing homelessness in partnership with providers. The program will fund landlord engagement, security deposits, and housing navigation to help prospective tenants find housing that suits their needs, in their neighborhood of choice.

The City, led by the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA), will partner with the homeless system to design a strategy so that vouchers can be issued quickly with a focus on equity.

“This humanitarian effort brings us one step further to closing the gap of housing instability for people experiencing homelessness and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking,” said Dr. Tonia Lediju, Chief Executive Officer of the Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco.

Under San Francisco’s Homelessness Recovery Plan, The City aims to purchase or lease 1,500 new units of permanent supportive housing between July 2020 and June 2022. To date, the City has provided 1,576 new placements, 26% of its goal, and has purchased or leased 769 new units of permanent supportive housing, 51% of its goal. For more information about the Homelessness Recovery Plan, including the City’s progress on achieving its goals, go to https://data.sfgov.org/stories/s/Homelessness-Recovery-Plan/jgih-75eg/

Read more at Office of the Mayor.