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E. OTHER ACTIONS <br />1. ACTIONS TO ADDRESS OBSTACLES TO MEETING UNDERSERVED NEEDS <br />According to the City's 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan, Santa Ana's underserved include the elderly, <br />disabled, youth, homeless, and very low-income households. During the report period, the City <br />continued its efforts to address the needs of these populations. These efforts included the <br />following: <br />¦ The City continued support for housing for the elderly and frail elderly. The housing needs of <br />seniors were met though various means: there are 944 senior-only units in various senior <br />housing projects throughout the City. The SAHA reports it provided rental assistance to 1,222 <br />elderly households during the report period (plus an additional 478 disabled households). <br />Additionally, Community SeniorServ provided daily meals to 1,196 homebound seniors and <br />seniors congregating at the City's senior citizen centers. <br />¦ As the administrator of HOPWA funds, the City continued its partnership with the Santa Ana <br />Housing Authority and Orange County to provide tenant based rental assistance and other <br />forms of emergency housing/utility assistance. Seventy individuals were assisted during the <br />report period with homeless prevention services. Additionally, HOPWA funds assisted 48 <br />individuals with emergency housing and 82 with transitional housing; 50 households received <br />long-term tenant based rental assistance. Since affordable housing opportunities for persons <br />with HIV/AIDS are limited throughout Orange County, Santa Ana staff continued efforts to <br />identify permanent supportive housing for persons with AIDS. <br />¦ The 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan estimates there are 4,434 Santa Ana households with <br />disabilities who are in need of housing. Building requirements for handicap-accessible units are <br />costly. Due to these costs, developers have been reluctant to undertake the construction of <br />new handicap-accessible units. Nonetheless, the City continued to encourage developers and <br />property owners to build or modify units to meet accessibility needs, and ensured they <br />complied with Fair Housing laws providing for reasonable accommodations. As noted earlier in <br />this report, no housing units rehabilitated during the report period included improvements to <br />assist persons with limited mobility; however, construction for a multi-unit housing project for <br />persons with disabilities started during the report period. <br />¦ Based on 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan data it is estimated there are 1,925 homeless individuals <br />in Santa Ana. Numerous programs were funded with ESG and HOPWA funds to assist these <br />individuals. The number of persons assisted during the report period is highlighted throughout <br />this report. <br />¦ The City's housing and public service programs provided substantial resources to assist the <br />community's Extremely Low-Income residents. Accomplishments are highlighted throughout <br />this document. Examples include housing rehabilitation and rental assistance, public safety, <br />education and nutrition programs. <br />08/23/2012 22 <br />19C-30