Mike Morris, Chron.com
Houston’s homeless will have access to 1,000 units of permanent housing, accompanied by support services, in the next two years, Mayor Annise Parker and Houston Housing Authority officials announced Wednesday.
The plan will not see an increase in the number of rental vouchers the housing authority offers, but, rather, will target 1,000 of its existing vouchers to the homeless before drawing tenants from its general waiting list.
The plan also ties the 1,000 vouchers to housing units rather than to people. So-called “project-based vouchers” provide a steady revenue stream that helps developers obtain financing to build new housing, said Tory Gunsolley, housing authority president and CEO.
“The commitment to help the homeless get on their feet, become part of Houston’s economic engine, is not a one-time thing,” Parker said, adding that the announcement was fitting on the eve of a holiday about reflection and giving thanks. “We have lots and lots of folks on a waiting list for housing. But there’s a difference between struggling in a not-very-nice apartment and (wanting) something better, and literally being homeless and not having any place to lay your head. It is a re-prioritization of some of these dollars.”
Parker, in her second inaugural address last January, committed to making progress on homelessness in her current term. The housing authority operates separately from the city, but its board members are appointed by the mayor.
It is not clear when nonprofits providing services for the homeless, primarily individual case management, will have the capacity to support the residents of the coming 1,000 units, said Thao Costis, president and CEO of SEARCH Homeless Services. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funds the voucher program, has stressed housing at the expense of support services in recent years, she said.
“We’ve been making incremental change over the past two decades, but today we need exceptional change, and for exceptional change to happen, it’s got to bring the different sectors together,” she said. “As a whole, the dollars aren’t there. Not yet. It’s going to take some time to ramp that up.”
(Read more of this story at the Chron.com)
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