New Report Outlines Methods for Increasing Investments in Supportive Housing
Supportive Housing Investment Partnership examines updates on policies that encourage supportive housing development to end homelessness
WASHINGTON – November 7, 2007 – The Supportive Housing Investment Partnership, a collaboration between Enterprise Community Partners and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, recently released a comprehensive update on how states are using innovative policies to produce permanent affordable housing with support services to address homelessness.
Specifically, Housing Credit Policies in 2007 that Promote Supportive Housing: A State-by-State Analysis looks at how states encourage supportive housing development within qualified allocation plans for the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. Supportive housing—permanent, affordable housing with support services—is a proven, cost-effective way to end homelessness for people who face the most complex challenges. Communities across the United States have identified expanding the supply of supportive housing as critical to their efforts to end homelessness. The federal Housing Credit program is a major source of financing for supportive housing development. “As localities move forward with the goal of ending homelessness within 10 years and as Enterprise continues with our mission of moving people up and out of poverty, it is critical to show that the strategies in this study are effective,” says Doris Koo, president and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners. “The policies outlined in the analysis are essential for encouraging the development of supportive housing. However, there is still a strong need to leverage public policy and resources at all levels in order for our goals to be accomplished.”
“We know supportive housing is an important tool in our work to end chronic homelessness,” said Deborah De Santis, president and CEO of CSH. “Expanding opportunities for private investment through the federal Housing Credit program is a productive and proven way for states to create permanent affordable housing while addressing the special needs of homeless persons without burdening state budgets. We are excited that more and more states are utilizing Low-Income Housing Tax Credits as a means of creating supportive housing for persons experiencing homelessness. “
The 2005 state-by-state assessment and the new 2007 analysis were developed as a basic resource for supportive housing developers, policymakers and advocates. The 2007 analysis identifies a variety of innovative Housing Credit policies regarding financing supportive housing development, including examples in each of the following categories:
• Credit Set-asides: States pledge to allocate a certain portion of available federal Housing Credits during the year to supportive housing developments.
• Scoring Incentives: States encourage supportive housing development through the award of points in the competitive scoring process.
• Threshold Requirements: States pledge to support only developments that meet minimum requirements to be considered supportive housing projects.
A downloadable PDF version of this state-by-state analysis and the 2005 assessment are available at www.shippartners.org. A companion report on how states are using the federal Housing Credit to encourage resident services can be found at www.residentservices.org.
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About the Supportive Housing Investment Partnership
The Supportive Housing Investment Partnership (SHIP) is the nation’s largest, most ambitious partnership focused on leveraging private capital investments to significantly increase the production of supportive housing and contribute to ending long-term homelessness across America. SHIP is a partnership of Enterprise and the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH). SHIP leverages the individual and complementary expertise of CSH and Enterprise, each of which has a longstanding and significant track record in supportive housing. The partnership uses the collective expertise and resources of the partners to create more supportive housing–permanent housing with services—for youth, adults, and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. For more information, visit www.shippartners.org.
About Enterprise
Enterprise is a leading provider of the development capital and expertise it takes to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild communities. For 25 years, Enterprise has pioneered neighborhood solutions through public-private partnerships with financial institutions, governments, community organizations and others that share our vision. Enterprise has raised and invested $8 billion in equity, grants and loans to help build or preserve 225,000 affordable rental and for-sale homes to create vital communities. Enterprise is currently investing in communities at a rate of $1 billion a year. Visit www.enterprisecommunity.org and www.enterprisecommunity.com to learn more about Enterprise’s efforts to build communities and opportunity, and to meet some of the half a million people we have helped.
About the Corporation for Supportive Housing
The Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) works with communities to create permanent affordable housing where people receive life-enhancing support services to prevent and end homelessness. Since our founding in 1991, we have provided advocacy, expertise, leadership, and financial resources to advance “supportive housing” for people with mental illnesses, substance abuse problems, and other disabling health conditions. CSH has leveraged over $1 billion for supportive housing and provided nearly $125 million in loans and grants — propelling the development of more than 18,000 high-quality homes for over 23,000 people, including single adults, families with children, and young adults. CSH is committed to meeting our ten-year plan of realizing 150,000 new units of supportive housing by 2012. To learn more about our success, go to www.csh.org.
