The City of Riverside is working with community partners to implement the best practice “Housing First” approach which emphasizes moving people into housing as quickly as possible and providing the appropriate level of services to support housing stabilization and retention, into all aspects of our local continuum of care. The Housing First approach represents a significant shift away from the traditional homeless service delivery system to one focused on homeless prevention, rapid re-housing and home-based case management to facilitate client stabilization leading to self-sufficiency. This effort currently includes the federal stimulus-funded Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP); the HUD SHP-funded Permanent Supportive Housing Program; the Veteran’s Administration Supportive Housing initiative (VASH) administered by the VA Loma Linda and the Housing Authority of the County of Riverside (HACR); the City’s HOME-funded Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program; and a new Shelter Plus Care “Street-to-Home” Project.

HOMELESS PREVENTION AND RAPID RE-HOUSING PROGRAM (HPRP)
In September of 2009, the City was allocated over $1.3 million in federal stimulus funding for up to three-years from the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The intent of the federal funding is to serve persons who are experiencing a housing emergency due to the economic downturn and became homeless or would become homeless but for this assistance and can remain stably housed after this temporary assistance ends. Building on the City’s existing Housing First/Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program, the City is partnering with the Housing Authority of the County of Riverside (HACR) to implement HPRP providing temporary financial assistance and housing stabilization services to help prevent low-income individuals and families from becoming homeless and help those who are experiencing homelessness to be quickly re-housed and stabilized. The program includes payment of rental arrears, assistance with move-in costs and/or short-to-medium-term rental subsidies coupled with case management services to facilitate client stabilization leading to self-sufficiency. From October 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010, the City has assisted 486 individuals in 176 households with homeless prevention and rapid re-housing program funding. Click here for more info… or call 211

PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROGRAM
The City continues to use $1.4 million in funding awarded through the HUD Continuum of Care Supportive Housing Program (SHP) to support the development and operations of two permanent supportive housing projects providing housing for sixteen (16) individuals/households. One of the projects is providing supportive housing specifically to chronically homeless individuals and the second project provides supportive housing for homeless persons with disabling conditions and their families (where applicable). On-going case management and supportive services are provided to participants to help ensure housing stability and the achievement of self-sufficiency goals. The City is working in partnership with local nonprofit housing developers, Riverside Housing Development Corporation and National CORE, as well as supportive service providers to implement these two projects. City staff will continue to pursue new opportunities to partner with local nonprofit organizations to develop and implement additional permanent supportive housing projects. For more information, please call 951-826-2344.

VETERANS’ ADMINISTRATION SUPPORTIVE HOUSING INITIATIVE (VASH) The Obama Administration has set a goal of ending homelessness among veterans over the next five-years. The US Department of Veterans’ Affairs is working in collaboration with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide targeted housing choice vouchers to homeless veterans throughout the country. Locally, the VA Loma Linda is working in collaboration with the Housing Authority of the County of Riverside, the Homeless Street Outreach Team and other continuum of care partners to assist homeless veterans with moving off the streets and into permanent supportive housing. During the 2009/10 program year, 97 veterans were issued VASH vouchers in Riverside County, including 33 veterans in the City of Riverside. For more information, please call 909-825-7084 ext. 4633

TENANT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TBRA)
The Riverside City Council allocated funding to establish the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Program (TBRA) to help address the need for permanent housing solutions for individuals and families that are homeless or on the verge of homelessness in the City of Riverside. The TBRA program, administered by the Housing Authority of the County of Riverside, provides eligible homeless and at-risk households in Riverside with move-in assistance or short-and-medium-term rental subsidies coupled with home-based case management. The TBRA program includes a “street to home” pilot project assisting a target group of chronically homeless individuals with exiting life on the streets and moving directly into housing coupled with aggressive case management provided by the City’s Homeless Street Outreach Team.
For more information, please call 951-343-5487

SHELTER PLUS CARE “STREET TO HOME” PROJECT
Following up on the TBRA pilot project referenced above, the Housing Authority of the County of Riverside was awarded new funding through the 2008 HUD Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance process to fund a new Shelter Plus Care “Street-to-Home” Project. The new project will target approximately 16 chronically homeless individuals identified by the Homeless Street Outreach Team for assistance with exiting life on the streets and moving directly into stable housing using Shelter Plus Care housing vouchers coupled with case management/supportive services. For more information, please call 951/826-2200 If you believe you qualify for assistance under the City of Riverside TBRA program based on the criteria above, please contact the Housing Authority of the County of Riverside at 951-343-5486.