Housing

Housing as an issue of poverty
While alleviating poverty for the non-elderly adults with severe mental illnesses is far beyond the scope of the Commission's mandate, there are several concrete steps that can be made by HUD to address the affordable housing crisis for consumers whose sole income support is SSI cash benefits. These include:

• Promoting greater targeting of HUD's programs (particularly HOME) toward development of rental housing that serves extremely low-income households (those at 30% of median income and below).
• Allowing greater discretion for housing authorities to "project-base" or "sponsor base" Section 8 tenant-based vouchers and allow non-profits to operate property-specific waiting lists.
• Urge Congress to emphasize rental production and extremely low-income targeting as part of any new affordable housing production program.

Discrimination, NIMBYism, and problems with the affordable housing system

• Direct the Office of Public and Indian Housing at HUD to issue guidance to all housing authorities receiving rental vouchers for people with disabilities tied to "elderly only" designation to ensure that they remain directed to non-elderly people with disabilities upon turnover.
• Grant the HUD Office of Fair Housing Equal Opportunity (FHEO) oversight authority for approval of all public housing Allocation Plan submissions.
• Direct HUD to issue regulations implementing the assisted housing tenant preference provisions of Title VI of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992.
• Direct HUD to complete its Section 504 compliance process and develop a plan to meet its pre-existing goal to ensure that HUD programs affirmatively further fair housing.

Maintaining current housing resources

• Applaud HUD for its most recent initiative to address chronic homeless.
• Direct HUD to develop a long-term plan for stable funding for renewal of expiring rent subsidies under the Section 811 program and the permanent supportive housing programs under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Shelter Plus Care and SHP).
• Direct HUD to continue the 30% permanent housing set aside and 25% local service match requirement within the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

Public mental health system and housing retention

• Direct HUD and the SAMHSA to develop a set of evidence-based best practice guidelines for housing-related supportive services for public mental health agencies.
• Direct the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to develop guidance for the states on Medicaid financing of supportive services in permanent supportive housing.