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AHA-1989-004 RESOLUTION NO. AHAB 9-4 A RESOLUTION OF THE ANAHEIM HOUSING AUTHORITY APPROVING AN APPLICATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR A GRANT TO OPERATE A SENIOR CITIZENS' SHARED HOUSING PROGRAM. WHEREAS, the State of California through its Department of Housing and Community Development, is authorized to provide grants to organizations to establish and operate Senior Citizens' Shared Housing Programs; and WHEREAS, the Anaheim Housing Authority is willing and desires to operate such a program; and WHEREAS, an application 'for grant funds has been prepared by the Anaheim Housing Authority. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Anaheim Housing Authority as follows: 1. That the grant application for funds to continue to operate a Senior Citizens' Shared Housing Program be, and is hereby approved. 2. That the Executive Director be, and she is hereby, authorited,and directed to present said grant application to the Department of Housing and;'.Community Development of the State of California. 3. That the Executive Director be, and she is hereby, authorized' to sign documents and act on behalf of the Anaheim Housing Authority in order to secure funds from the Department of Housing and Community Development of the State of California and to implement a Senior Citizens' Shared Housing Program. THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION is approved and adopted by the Anaheim Housing Authority this twenty first day of February 1989. • CHAIR 99 NAHEIM HOUSING AUTH cl RITY ` ATTEST: t S SECR -'TRY ANAHEIVI',HOUSING AUTHORITY STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE . ) CITY OF ANAHEIM • ) I, LEONORA N. SOHL, Secretary of the Anaheim Housing Authority, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution No. AHA89-4 was passed and adopted at a �` 1 regular meeting of the Anaheim Housing Authority held on the 21st day of February, 1989, by the following vote of the members thereof: AYES: AUTHORITY MEMBERS: Daly, Ehrle, Pickler, Kaywood .and Hunter NOES: AUTHORITY MEMBERS: None • ABSENT: AUTHORITY MEMBERS: None AND I FURTHER CERTIFY that the Chairman of the Anaheim Housing Authority signed said Resolution on the 22nd day of February, 1989. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 22nd day of m February, 1989. • SECRETARY OF THE ANAHEIM HOUSING AUTHORITY •(SEAL) : • • • •• Th • • • • m CITY OF ANAHEIM . SHARED HOUSING PROGRAM 1989 1. A. Applicant Name: City of Anaheim Housing Authority Address: 300 S. Harbor Blvd., Suite 600 Anaheim, California 92805 B. Contact Person: Nan Huff, Housing Operations Coordinator Liz Sackman, Shared Housing Specialist Telephone Number:(714) 533-8754 C. Project Service Area: The City of Anaheim D. State Senators: William Campbell 31st District Edward Royce 32th District John Seymour 35th District Assembly Representatives: John Lewis 67th District Doris Allen 71st District Curt Pringle 72nd District E. Amount of Match- Up Program Grant Funds Requested: $50,000 F. Amount of Match Funds Available , $50,000 G. Previously funded by HCD during the 1986/87 funding cycle. 2. A. Geographic Data The target area proposed is the City of Anaheim. 3. A. Need As identified in the 1988 Anaheim Human Services Needs Assessment, seniors are in need of affordable housing, in-home care providers and adequate transportation. According to the 1980 Census, there were 26,065 people over the age of sixty living in Anaheim. Since 1980, Anaheim's overall population has increased by approximately 23,000 people. Page 2 With a higher demand for living units, rents have increased considerably since 1980. In 1980, the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a one bedroom unit was $345, and $406 for a two bedroom unit. As of October 1988, the FMR for one bedroom units has increased nearly 200 percent, to $671, and the two bedroom FMR has also increased by 1.95 percent, to $790. For senior citizens with fixed incomes, receiving only Social Security and SSI, the current rent for one bedroom units often exceeds their entire monthly income. Compounding this problem is the lack of available rental assistance for low income seniors in the City. At present, senior citizens waiting for rental assistance face a minimum wait of four years before the Housing Authority is able to offer assistance. We have approximately 2,500 seniors on our Section 8 Waiting List, and due to funding cutbacks in the Section 8 Existing Program, we are able to assist only a small percentage of the senior citizens on our waiting list every year. The Shared Housing Program has been a viable alternative for senior citizens in Anaheim. To quote the City of Anaheim's 'Vision 2000 - Strategic Planning for the Community of Anaheim', "Aging residents and ethnic minorities often find that quality housing is beyond their financial reach. As a result overcrowding and unhealthy housing conditions exist." Shared Housing has helped to combat these problems by assisting senior citizens to find living arrangements suitable to their economic conditions. 4. Organization The Anaheim Housing Authority was established in 1975 and is part of the City of Anaheim's Community Development Department. The Housing Authority, with an annual budget of approximately$18,000,000, and thirty-six permanent employees, serves as the umbrella for the City's. Section 8 Existing program (including the State Aftercare program), Neighborhood Preservation programs, Community Development Block Grant program, and the Shared Housing program. Also administered by the Housing Authority is one Section 8 New Construction project. Following is a brief description of these programs: A. Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program: Provides rental assistance to very-low and low income families through the Section 8 Existing Certificate and Voucher Housing Program, the Moderate Rehabilitation Program, the New Construction Program and the State Aftercare Program. The Housing Authority currently has an allocation of 2,688 Certificates/Vouchers, allocated under the programs listed above. Page 3 B. Housing Rehabilitation Programs: The Housing Authority, in conjunction with the Neighborhood Preservation Program, operates a variety of rehabilitation programs including a low- interest loan program, a cash rebate program and the 312 Loan Program, which improves property and allows tenants living in the rehabilitated buildings to receive rental assistance. C. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program: This program adminsters CDBG funds, allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to benefit low and moderate income citizens of the City. CDBG funds are spent on a variety of activities defined as eligible by HUD, including funding for non-profit social service agencies and public works improvements. D. Shared Housing Program A program operated by the Housing Authority to provide, free of charge, a screening and referral service to match interested individuals in shared housing arrangements. Please see full program description below. 5. Current Program Description Match-Up Program A. Administrative Management The Shared Housing Program is currently administered by the Housing Operations Coordinator (Nan Huff). Working directly for the Housing Operations Coordinator is the Shared Housing Specialist (Liz Sackman), who is responsible for all phases of program implementation. The Shared Housing Specialist also supervises all Shared Housing program volunteers (and will supervise any additional staff hired for program implementation). B. Matching Process • OUTREACH: Senior Citizens are made aware of the Anaheim Shared Housing Program in many ways. Primarily, referrals from the senior citizen centers have been most productive. Staff has worked extensively with other social/human service agencies in the area, notifying them of the availability and scope of the Anaheim Shared Housing Program. Liz Sackman is also a member of the Anaheim Human Services Network. Through the Network, she provides regular outreach about Anaheim's Shared Housing program to more than forty public/private non-profit organizations. In addition, presentations to a variety of senior citizen groups has helped to make the program very popular. Page 4 In printed publications, shared housing staff has strived to be fresh and innovative with fliers. Fliers are distributed, on a regular basis, to all senior centers, churches, public/private non-profit agencies, libraries and community centers in the area. In addition, local newspapers and radio stations have been very receptive to the idea of shared residences. The Orange County Register, Orange County's Senior World, and the Senior Citizens' Reporter have published artricles about the Anaheim Shared Housing program. Radio Station KEZY-FM aired free one minute spots advertising the program for one week, while KPRN-AM hosted the radio talk show "The Second Fifty Years", featuring the shared housing specialist as one of the guests. INTAKE/PLACEMENT: When participants enter the program, they are counseled on how to pick the roommate that will be most compatible for them. They are instructed to first discuss their possible arrangement over the telephone, then to arrange a meeting at a neutral location, such as a restaurant. This gives both clients the opportunity to meet on equal ground and to see if they may have similar interests and habits. At the initial interview, the clients are given a Homesharer's Checklist which provides them with a list of items pertinent to homesharing, such as: Time needed alone, division of household expenses and chores, likes and dislikes, etc. Also, it is stressed that they should take their time to really get to know potential roommates. Staff also suggest that the participants ask for references, and check these references. During any phase of the match, clients are encouraged to discuss their situations with the shared housing specialist. When the potential roommate finally views the dwelling unit, both people are instructed to discuss any other relevant items, such as guests, pets and smoking. INFORMATION/REFERRAL SERVICES: Individuals are given all applicable information and any referrals that they are interested in, or which seem relevant to the shared housing specialist. For example, all individuals are counseled about the availability of housing alternatives i.e. Section 8 Existing program and affordable housing. If their incomes are below the norm for senior citizens, they are informed about SSI and are instructed on who to contact in their area. Staff previously worked in the senior citizen section of the City of Anaheim's Community Services Department so they are very familiar on what is available to seniors in Anaheim and Orange County. PLACEMENT: The Anaheim Shared Housing program does not place people in shared housing situations. Rather, the program functions as a screening and referral service, assisting individuals to find a compatible shared housing arrangement. Placement is a voluntary arrangement Page 5 between the home-sharers, facilitated by the Anaheim Shared Housing program. All participants are given a sample homesharing agreement which is strongly suggested as.a useful tool toward successful arrangements and to safeguard toward any potential problems. When clients decide to live together, they are encouraged to try a trial period so that both individuals have the opportunity to see if this arrangement is appropriate for them. Follow-up assistance is also available, as needed, for those program participants that have been matched. FOLLOW-UP ASSISTANCE: The shared housing specialist follows-up on each match by contacting the clients two weeks, and then six weeks after their placement date. The clients are then contacted every three months to see how their arrangement is working out. Follow-up then ends one year after the match date. If clients are having difficulties, the shared housing specialist counsels them on proper communication techniques to resolve their differences. If further problems persist, the shared housing specialist offers to make a home visit to help bridge the communication gap. If the situation calls for specialized assistance, such as a gerontologist, the shared housing specialist would facilitate a meeting. Staff also assists clients in: Locating furniture,finding volunteers to help them move/make minor repairs, arranging appropriate transportation services and direction toward desired social/human service programs. C. During the last three years, the Anaheim Shared Housing program has counseled 4,927 individuals regarding the possibility of shared housing. Also during the last three years, a total of 372 individuals have entered into shared housing arrangements due to the program. Finally, 86 frail elderly individuals have been assisted during the last three years. 6. The Anaheim Shared Housing program does not operate a group residence program. 7. A. Not applicable. B. The Anaheim Shared Housing program would be expanded using this grant. Specifically, we would like to purchase a personal computer and printer,with graphics software, to produce professional quality outreach materials. ` Additionally, we would like to hire additional staff to assist with preparation of outreach materials, and to especially concentrate on volunteer recruitment, so that volunteers will be available after funding for additional staff has expired. Page 6 C. The proposed number of senior citizens counseled for the 1989-91 grant period is 5,000, with 400 people expected to change their living situation. With a growing number of frail seniors, the Shared Housing program projects to 104 frail senior citizens.