4 - RFP PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

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Santa Ana Housing Authority Request for Proposals for Permanent Supportive Housing Page 10 4. Placing homeless individuals and families into project-based housing units; 5. Performing case management services for homeless individuals and families that will remove barriers to successful achievement of independent living skills, attainment of employment skills, and greater self- determination; 6. Tracking and reporting program activities and outcomes using the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) operated by the Orange County Continuum of Care. Data entry into HMIS is required in order to perform tracking and reporting program activities and outcomes. Supportive Services means services provided to tenants for the purpose of addressing the tenants’ condition of homelessness and enhancing the tenants' ability to maintain independent living. Supportive services must address the special needs of the tenants to be served. These services may include: (a) medical or mental health care; (b) medical and psychological case management; (c) benefits advocacy and income support assistance such as TANF, General Assistance, CalFresh, Social Security Disability Income, tenant assistance or representation to address landlord/tenant issues; (d) money management/payee services; (e) nutritional counseling; and (f) assistance in obtaining other resources and support for tenants such as clothing, furniture and household items, transportation, job training and job placement. These services may be provided directly or by arrangement with other service providers. Housing First Housing First is an approach that offers permanent, affordable housing as quickly as possible for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, and then provides the supportive services and connections to the community-based supports people need to keep their housing and avoid returning to homelessness. Housing provides a foundation from which a person or family can access the services and supports they need to achieve stability, begin the recovery process, and pursue personal goals. Housing First programs share critical elements: • There is a focus on helping individuals and families access and sustain rental housing as quickly as possible and the housing is not time-limited; • A variety of services are delivered primarily following a housing placement to promote housing stability and individual well-being; • Such services are time-limited or long-term depending upon individual need; and • Housing is not contingent on compliance with services – instead, participants must comply with a standard lease agreement and are provided with the services and supports that are necessary to help them do so successfully. A Housing First approach rests on the belief that helping people access and sustain permanent, affordable housing should be the central goal of our work with people experiencing homelessness. By providing housing assistance, case management and supportive services responsive to individual or family needs (time-limited or long-term) after an individual or family is housed, communities can significantly reduce the time people experience homelessness and prevent further episodes of homelessness. A central tenet of the Housing First approach is that social services to enhance individual and family well-being can be more effective when people are in their own home. The Housing First approach is strongly recommended for accepting referrals from the Orange County Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry System. 4-13