About the Housing Resource Center
Overview
The Housing Resource Center provides information and technical assistance to people with disabilities, their families, and community collaboration and advocacy groups who support them.
Technical assistance consists of:
- assessing an individual's current housing situatcontaxcion,
- identifying the needs and resources available to live successfully in a supportive environment that is least restrictive for the individual and
- educating the circle of supports on how to implement those plans.
Some examples of technical assistance include:
- providing information to families and support coordinators about estate planning tools that will assist in developing supportive housing,
- information about how local zoning can impact individual housing development plans,
- information about how consumers can access mortgage and other funds to promote homeownership,
- information about how to navigate subsidized housing and
- information about how Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) work.
Services of the Housing Resource Center also include a continually updated database that offers information about:
- available housing to be utilized by the citizens of Oakland County,
- people seeking potential roommates (shared housing),
- mortgage products,
- Realtors, and
- other resources related to housing and information about accessing community supports.
The HRC has 4 Certified Occupancy Specialists, 5 Housing Quality Inspectors, and 3 homebuyer counselors on staff.
Another service offered through the Housing Resource Center is the Independent Living Club. This group is geared toward consumers who currently live independently or express an interest in such living arrangements for the future. Some of the topics which are covered are:
- money management,
- home improvement,
- security issues,
- conflict management,
- social opportunities and
- homeowner/renter insurance information.
The main goal of the Housing Resource Center is to provide information and education in a direct, accessible manner to people with disabilities, their families, and other circles of support about the different housing options available so that they may make informed choices.
The following are areas of service the HRC provides and the direct benefit of these services:
Technical Assistance
Web Site
Supportive Housing Resource Manual
Independent Living Club
Homeless Leasing Assistance
Homeownership Program
Section 8 Alert List
Speakers Bureau
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)
Having a disability or supporting a person with disability can be challenging as you reach out to find support and available resources. Understanding this, the HRC's main goal is to reduce the stress on the consumers and their circles of supports as they struggle to meet one of the most basic of needs housing, which is one of the most basic of needs.
With so many programs and varying options for persons with disabilities, doing the research and understanding the information can be time consuming and so immense that most persons with disabilities give up. The knowledgeable staff of the HRC provides deep technical assistance for those facing this challenge whether the consumer is facing a foreclosure or wants to live independently in their own home or apartment.
Each year, we provide about 2500 hours of technical assistance to consumers and their circles of supports. On average, we receive 100 calls each month.
The HRC staff will assist the consumer in understanding what is available and make the appropriate referrals, giving them the direct number and who to speak to when they call and, in some cases, calling on behalf of the consumer if the consumer or circle of support is unable. We educate them so that they can make decisions based on knowledge, not on fear.
The issues the HRC deals with are many, but the following is a list of the most pressing concerns brought to us:
- home ownership,
- foreclosure prevention,
- Section 8,
- subsidized housing,
- property taxes,
- title issues,
- landlord tenant relationships,
- credit counseling,
- budgeting,
- estate planning,
- refinancing,
- accessible housing,
- group home placements,
- landlords looking to rent to persons with disabilities and
- how to maximize mainstream benefits.
While it is predominately predominantly OCCMHA consumers who receive the deep Technical Assistance, the Staff of the HRC makes sure that no one leaves empty-handed.
Gathering information regarding housing options can be very intimidating for many of our consumers. Much of the information needed to make informed decisions is buried deep within governmental websites, scattered among many websites, or the language is so technical that unless you were working in the housing field, the average person would not be able to understand.
While there are a variety of resources that benefit persons with disabilities without the assistance of the HRC, most of the individuals would either not locate or not successfully secure the unique set of resources suited the circumstances. Add to this any amount of stress or illness and the task of finding information is daunting at best, but in most cases impossible for many consumers and/or circles of supports.
To assist consumers and their circles of supports in gathering information regarding housing, the CHN Website, which is maintained through the HRC, is the most effective tool of educating persons with disabilities, their circles of supports and the community. The HRC does all of the footwork of researching and translating the information. The HRC next brings together all of the information in one place in an easily understandable and accessible format.
The HRC has received many compliments of how comprehensive the website is from many individuals looking for affordable housing, and from those who are assisting individuals. Information currently contained on the Website ranges from current Fair Market Rents to how to increase Adult Home Help hours. Two powerful tools on the Website are the Empowerment Link Database, which provides a searchable database to find a variety of housing providers, and the HomeShare Database, a database dedicated to assisting individuals creating home sharing opportunities.
At any point in time, we have an average of 50 roommate profiles and over 279 housing providers listed. We average 20,000 hits a month and this number has been steadily increasing.
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Supportive Housing Resource Manual
With the support of the Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority and its core providers, Community Living Services, Community Network Services, Easter Seals of Michigan, Macomb Oakland Regional Center, and Training & Treatment Innovations; Community Housing Network spearheaded the creation of a comprehensive Housing Resource Manual for Oakland County.
Information contained in the manual is contributed by experts in their respective fields on such topics as:
- Person Centered Planning,
- Self-determination,
- Fair Housing,
- Landlord/Tenant Law,
- Employment,
- Income Assistance and Benefit Programs,
- Alternatives to Guardianship,
- Estate Planning,
- Developing a Budget,
- Credit Repair, and
- Basic Home Maintenance.
It is our hope that the information will offer useful, easy to reference facts about many topics related to housing for persons with disabilities. All chapters in the manual are on-line at the CHN Website, where easy access and current updates will be offered as new information becomes available. We invite you to contact Community Housing Network with corrections, suggestions, additions or revisions to improve what is a dynamic document.
The Independent Living Club is an ongoing program of education, self help and mutual support for homeowners, renters and those with a goal of living independently.
Friends, family members and support coordinators/case managers are also welcome to attend. Currently, we have had 48 participants in the club.
The club, which currently holds meetings on a monthly basis, focuses on a different topic which relate to home ownership, renting and independent living at each meeting. Some of the topics covered are:
- money management,
- weatherization,
- fire safety,
- insurance information,
- shopping tips and guidelines,
- maintenance and
- minor home repair.
Because experience is the best teacher, participants are encouraged to share advice with the group, as well as, ask questions of the instructor or other participants. In addition to the education we offer, the club also acts a conduit for linking roommates and provides for socialization.
Designed to work in conjunction with the Club Houses, the Independent Living Club provides ongoing support, stimulates the participant's growth, and fosters individual stability, and motivation to maintain and enjoy an independent living status.
Unfortunately, homelessness is a reality for many people with disabilities. Persons experiencing a disability are disproportionately represented in the Oakland County homeless population. As such, the HRC has identified homeless leasing assistance of scattered site units as one of the most effective ways to assist the consumers of OCCMHA. In addition, the staff of the HRC plays an integral role on the Oakland County Taskforce on Homelessness and Affordable Housing to ensure that the needs of consumers of OCCMHA are represented and resources are allocated to them.
In the last three years the HRC has received two Homeless leasing assistance grants for persons with disabilities. These programs have created 147 permanent supportive housing beds for persons with disabilities in our community. Each month the grants provide a total of $83,496 in HUD funds to consumers of OCCMHA in supportive services and leasing assistance costs. These funds also attract an additional $644,392 of mainstream resources for the consumers in a year. The HRC currently has five grants pending for an additional 50 beds of permanent supportive housing.
For many consumers the dream of becoming a homeowner seems impossible with the limited amount of resources available to most persons with disabilities. The HRC has worked diligently to either directly acquire or partner with various entities to produce several funding streams that make this dream a possibility for consumers of OCCMHA.
The HRC staff, which has 3 homebuyer counselors, helps the consumer and circle of supports navigate this complex web of funding. The terms and conditions of grants and how they work in conjunction with one another are presented in terms that the consumer and circle of supports can understand through a comprehensive pre- and post-Homebuyers' Counseling program. During the whole process, the HRC staff walks the consumer though each step and helps them to realize their dream of becoming a homeowner.
Since 2002, the HRC homeownership program has provided $630,096 in grants and subsidies to consumers of Oakland County. In addition, we have screened over 200 consumers to assess them of their homebuyer readiness. Of those that are not ready, we work with them and their circles of supports to identify the gaps and work out a plan of action to over come those gaps. The HRC Homebuyer program has assisted 12 consumers to become homeowners. Creation of homeownership opportunities is lengthy and highly resource intensive.
Section 8 is the single most effective tool the Federal government provides to make housing affordable for the most vulnerable citizens and it is the most convoluted program to understand and receive information about, let alone obtain a voucher. The HRC has worked diligently to develop relationships with the public housing authority (administrators of Section 8 Vouchers) to ensure that they are Section 504 compliant with regard to notification of when a Section 8 list opens up.
The HRC maintains a list of 254 individuals and Support Coordinators who are seeking Section 8 vouchers and notifies them when a waiting list is open. Many times, we are able to obtain the applications and give them directly to the consumer or Supports Coordinator instead of having them stand in long lines waiting to fill out infomation.
The HRC also advocates on behalf of the consumers during the application process and assists with filling out the application. While there is no measurement method available to know how many of those we have alerted actually obtain a voucher, we do know that even if a consumer gets on the waiting list, many times the estimated wait time is 4 to 6 years. In addition to alerting individual consumers, we consistently disseminate this valuable information to the Core Providers.
One of the main outreach tools the HRC has is the Speakers Bureau. The HRC Staff are routinely invited to various venues throughout the community to speak about housing and housing options. Last year we gave 24 presentations speaking to about 678 people. We speak to provider organizations, advocacy groups, and to school district support personnel, Club Houses, as well as to parent groups.
This outreach is an excellent tool in educating individuals in the community, and enables us to give further technical assistance to those people who attend our speaking engagements, but have additional needs.
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)
Community Housing Network HRC is the lead agency and has taken the lead role in implementing the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) for the Oakland County Continuum of Care. The HMIS uses Internet-based technology to assist homeless service organizations and Continuums of Care (CoC's) to capture information about the clients they service.
HUD issued a mandate to all human service agencies that receive McKinney/Vento and/or ESG funds to capture client level data in order to provide an unduplicated count, void of any identifying client level information. This information is captured via interviews, conducted by service providers with consumers, and analyzed for an unduplicated count.
As of October 2005, Oakland County has completed Phase I implementation and is currently populating the database with client information from 10 service organizations. The Phase I organizations include:
- Lighthouse of Oakland County,
- Housing Plus,
- New Bethel Outreach,
- Baldwin Church and Center,
- Place of Hope,
- Community Housing Network, Inc.,
- South Oakland Shelter,
- Training and Treatment Innovations,
- Common Ground Sanctuary and
- Oakland Schools.