Support for Service Providers > Permanent Supportive Housing for Veterans
Permanent Supportive Housing for Veterans
December 7, 2005
Speakers:
· Bill D'Arcy, Division Manager, Residential Housing, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago
· Kathy Donahue, Division Manager, Family and Parish Support Services, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago
· Claude Hutchison, Director, Office of Asset Enterprise Management, VA
· Moderator Nancy McGraw, Director of Strategic Partnerships, CSH
· Introductions: John Driscoll, Communications Director, NCHV
· Katrina Van Valkenburgh, Associate Director, Illinois, CSH
Nancy welcomed us all to the call and explained the background of the First Wednesdays in Supportive Housing calls, which take place every other month. She also described the set up of this call, which was slightly different than usual: approximately a 15 minute presentation, followed by a question and answer period, then another shorter presentation again followed by a Q&A.
Topic:
This call was sponsored in conjunction with the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV). The focus was on working with groups that have historically done transitional housing and how they can begin to provide more permanent housing options to their target populations with the resources that are available. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Pilot Loan Guarantee Program was discussed, along with the implementation and development experiences that Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago had with the St. Leo's project.
This call was made possible through a technical assistance grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
John Driscoll introduced Claude. This TA grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is to provide guidance to all the nation’s programs that house homeless veterans.
Claude Hutchison, Office of Asset Enterprise Management (OAEM)
Loan Guarantee Program – the objective is to provide up to 15 loans totaling $100M; on average $7-8M per loan.
o 5000 new beds ($20,000 per bed, on average)
o This is a loan, not a grant, and is expected to be repaid.
o Flexible – target term is 30 years
o VA loan is usually 20-35% of the total cost of the project
o Income catalyst for all different financing places since VA put name on the line
o For transitional housing, but no end date
Program aims to take people on the first level of recovery. During transition, get and remain employed, the expectation is that they will be able to move out eventually because they have a job.
What had the greatest rate of success? Rehab vs. new construction? VA handpicked organizations to work with them to identify sites, etc.
Program infrastructure: extensive application and financial model necessary.
1st Pilot: St. Leo’s with Catholic Charities of Chicago, to be completed at the end of 2006. Catholic Charities has site control and zoning.
2nd Pilot: Veteran Village in San Diego, CA
72 units
First part of recovery with continuum of care to permanent housing
Challenges:
o Development process is not simple; depends on jurisdiction.
o Because of multiple financial components, it is difficult to get financing but VA leads and hopefully others follow.
o Sponsor organizations must have the organizational capacity – the project needs to be sustainable, especially because of the 30 year loan term.
Prospective sponsors need a balance; there are several groups involved that want their say.
Next Steps:
o Work for more subsidies; project-specific Section 8 vouchers were key in Chicago
o Firm up regulation for lessons learned
If any sponsors are on the call, contact the VA for an opportunity to participate.
See an article on the VA Loan Guarantee Program.
Nancy began the first Question and Answer period.
Question & Answer
Q. Based on geographical analysis, is there a targeted area:
A. Major metro areas, but no ranking of cities yet. Where ever there is great need and the number of beds can be maximized.
Q. Loan terms: interest rates and determination.
A. Federal financing bank (U.S. Treasury) does pricing at 30-year rate. New construction could have 40-year term.
Q. Sources of repayment?
A. Encouraging occupants to be productive citizens, so one is rent. We think it is realistic; no more than 30 % of income. An individual should move out in about 24-30 months, though this is not absolute. Other possible source: retail for commercial rent and a source of jobs.
Q. Underwritten at a certain income level?
A. Yes, $350 per month in rent. Project-specific section 8 is higher than $350.
Q. Is there a specific period of time a person can live there?
A. it is not permanent, it is transitional housing. But, we are not going to kick people out – we are flexible on the terms of occupancy.
Q. Will there be rehab of existing rental units?
A. Probably not – individual houses or scattered site would be difficult.
Catholic Charities: St. Leo’s Project
Katrina introduced Kathy and Bill.
Kathy Donahue
Catholic Charities (CC) had been running soup kitchens, shelters, etc. In 2001, we developed a strategic plan for helping people. At that time, we discovered that 30% of the homeless population we were serving were vets. CC had a good relationship with the Veterans Administration and the Church was rich in real estate. CC learned about the VA Loan Program because we wanted to combine services and housing areas of CC.
Bill D’Arcy
Predevelopment started in November 2002. Procured land on southside of Chicago for clinic and project – 70,000 veterans live in the surrounding area.
Needed a consultant, architect with SRO experience, legal advice and general contractors in order to begin development; construction now about 15% done.
Then began searching for financing: 10-levels of financing for the project (Dept. of Veterans Affairs, LIHTC, Pullman Bank, IHDA, Federal Home Loan, HUD McKinney, Chicago Community Trust, IL Energy Grant, Hilton Hotel and Catholic Charities. Met with people at the city, state and federal level to secure the money.
Total cost for 141 rooms and a two-story clinic: $19.9M.
Money for Operations: Housing-choice vouchers, and rent.
Nancy began the second Question and Answer period
Question & Answer
Q. Would a hotel such as the Days Inn example have units with private bathrooms and/or kitchens?
A. Yes, the intent would be that each unit would have its own bathroom and kitchen and then have some common dining facilities.
Q. For the Chicago and San Diego projects, are there state or city residency requirements?
A. No, one doesn’t have to live in the area.
Q. What about rural areas?
A. It depends on the financial situation. If enough people could be attracted to the area and there is proximity to a clinic or hospital, it might work. For the Loan Guarantee we are focused on today, rural isn’t a priority but there are other funding sources for rural housing. (See CSH’s Financing Supportive Housing Guide for more information).
Q. How did you decide which services would be provided?
A. Looked at the need of the tenants and population.
Services provided in the on-site clinic:
Department of Labor: Employment
Vet Centers: Counseling, clothing emergency food
State Service Officers: Benefits screening and advocacy
Out-patient Health Care: Psychiatry, primary care, substance abuse
services. Occasional dentistry and optometry.
Residential On-site case Management: Catholic Charities
Advice on developing veteran housing with services:
o Working with the VA is better than other government agencies
o Most hurdles are at the local level
o Get the state committed to the project
o Good attorneys who understand housing
Nancy closed the call by thanking the group and stating that call notes and appropriate links will be posted on the First Wednesdays in Supportive Housing page on the CSH website. The next First Wednesdays in Supportive Housing call will take place on February 1, 2006.
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