Feature

Mastering Housing for the Homeless

by Sidney Hollister

When a person ends up without shelter, finding permanent and supportive housing is an urgent need, especially if chronic mental or physical health problems are involved. Property owners who have properties that are beset by tenant problems—tenant violence or threats of violence, property damage and frequent evictions—need to find permanent, law-abiding tenants. The city’s use of master leasing is in many ways a response to both these needs; by relying on existing housing stock rather than the construction of new accommodations, master leasing brings housing for the homeless rapidly on line. Through this approach, rent is paid to a master lessor from a tenant’s benefits check before the tenant has access to the check; the tenant then receives the balance. Using private capital up front, master-lease buildings are brought up to code and renovations are made to accommodate on-site supportive services. Thereafter, the owner retains responsibility only for large capital improvements. Once in a master-leasing program, a building troubled by past tenant problems finds these problems significantly reduced. Tenants, building owners and city neighborhoods all benefit.

Two major city programs use the master-leasing approach: Direct Access to Housing in the Department of Public Health and Housing First Program (HFP) in the Department of Human Services. Care Not Cash has allowed both programs to add units to their existing facilities. Each program offers supportive permanent housing and helps tenants regain control and stability in their lives, but they differ in the range and kinds of services offered and, consequently, in the types of clients they accommodate

Established in 1998, DAH manages just over 600 units in 10 buildings, serving formerly homeless adults who were frequent users of the public health system. The ten DAH buildings include nine single-room occupancy (SRO) hotels and one licensed board-and-care facility. Before tenants move in, DAH confirms that a building is up to code and that renovations to accommodate its extensive on-site services are completed. Tenants need those services, as most are disabled by chronic mental and emotional disorders, especially tenants leaving institutions in the mental health, substance abuse and criminal justice systems. In fact, these are exactly the kind of homeless individuals DAH seeks to help.

All DAH buildings have between three and five on-site case managers who assist residents in many ways, from helping them maintain access to benefits to providing them with one-on-one counseling. The Department of Public Health contracts with one or more organizations to provide these on-site services, as well as to manage the properties. All 10 sites also have access to a roving team of three specialists who work to prevent possible evictions if a resident’s behavioral problems suddenly worsen. Tenants still have their rights and are free to accept available services or not.

DAH, which seeks to “screen in,” not bar, potential tenants, receives referrals from street outreach teams, shelters and acute hospital or long-term care facilities. A history of felony conviction or a lack of documentation does not disqualify a potential tenant.

DAH residents, about 80% of whom receive Supplemental Security Income and medical benefits, pay roughly 50% of their monthly income toward rent—about $300 on average. The remaining $900 needed to cover the costs for a DAH tenant comes from the city’s general fund and other governmental sources.

Since opening its first facility in 1998, 4% of DAH residents have been evicted, in spite of receiving counseling. Usually nonpayment of rent and difficulties with other tenants are the causes of eviction. Since 1998, almost 66% have remained housed in the program. Half of the 33% who left the program moved into other permanent housing. This stability is clearly beneficial, since once in the program’s supportive housing, DAH clients’ use of the Department of Public Health’s emergency services drops significantly. Also, because a tenant’s unit in a DAH facility is held if hospitalization is required, they have somewhere to go when they are released, which results in shorter hospital stays.

The Department of Human Services’ HFP also uses the master-leasing approach. Created as the SRO Housing Program in 1999, it provides permanent housing for over 2,000 homeless adults in 23 SRO hotels. Most of the agency’s tenants, who receive rent subsidies if they need them, were residing in emergency shelters, engaged in Health Service benefits programs, or were participants in San Francisco County’s Adult Assistance Program (CAAP).

By partnering with nonprofit providers (Conard House, Tenderloin Housing Clinic and others), HFP develops permanent, affordable, supportive housing in under-rented SRO hotels. These partners manage the properties and, as master lessors, handle rent payments. Improvements such as individual mailboxes and on-site laundry facilities are made each year to program properties. On-site services offered at each hotel include, among others, counseling, community activities and informational forums on health, employment and education. Links to city health clinics for mental and physical health needs are also provided.

As the Housing First name implies, however, the need for permanent housing has to be met before an individual can productively use these and other support services. In fiscal year 2004-5, 99% of all HFP participants were able to maintain their housing for at least 30 days, achieving tenancy—no small feat for people who generally have had difficulty establishing any kind of permanent residency. More than 94% maintained that tenancy or moved to other permanent housing where they pay rent.
The principal assessment of which program is most suitable for the potential tenant is primarily performed by outreach teams and institutions, but DHA and HFP also cooperate with each other and with other programs to ensure the best client-program match.

Property owners interested in DAH’s master-leasing program should get in touch with Marc Trotz, Director of Housing and Urban Health in the San Francisco Department of Public Health at 554-2565 or at marc.trotz@sfdph.org. Dariush Kayhan heads the HFP at the Human Service Agency. He can be reached at 558-1902 or at dariush.kayhan@sfgov.org.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. Sidney Hollister is a writer, photographer and editor who resides in San Francisco. Copyright � 2006 by the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.