HUD offers $20 million for accessible housing, independent living

Hoping to strengthen independent living and services for the disabled, elderly, and non-elderly legal residents, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has offered $20 million in grants to owners of multi-family housing developments to support the hiring of service employees and to increase the number of units accessible for the elderly and the disabled.

HUD is making these grants available through its service coordinator program. The program will support the hiring of service coordinators to help frail and at-risk elderly individuals and persons with disabilities access health care, meals and other critical support services.

“HUD is helping to provide older Americans and those with disabilities with safe, affordable housing. These grants will help provide the services they need to allow them to remain in their homes, connected to their communities and friends, rather than face unnecessary institutionalization,’’ said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

The service coordinator program funding covers service coordinators salaries and fringe benefits, training, quality assurance, and relevant administrative expenses. Service coordinators assess resident needs, identify and link residents to appropriate services, and monitor the delivery of services.

Services involve activities of residents' daily living (ADLs), such as eating, dressing, bathing, grooming, transferring, and home management. A service coordinator may also educate residents about what services are available and how to use them, and help residents build informal support networks with other residents, family, and friends. The service coordinator may not require any elderly or disabled family to accept the supportive services.

These grants will be awarded to owners of privately owned multifamily housing developments that receive money from HUD to house low-income individuals. The owners or their management companies will use the funding offered today to either hire or contract service coordinators with backgrounds in providing social services, to the frail elderly and people with disabilities, and to assist their residents with special needs.

Owners of Section 202, Section 8, Section 221(d)(3) below-market interest rate, and Section 236 developments may apply for funding. Eligibility for grant funding is limited to those developments designed for the elderly and persons with disabilities, including any such building within a mixed-use project originally designed for them or where the owner gives preferences in tenant selection with HUD approval.

Type of assistance
HUD provides funding through three mechanisms at this time: (1) a national competition with other properties for a limited amount of grant funding, (2) the use of the development's residual receipts or excess income, or (3) budget-based rent increases or special rent adjustments.

HUD will award grants to approximately 100 applicants. Applications are due on or before Nov. 5, 2009.

Eligible customers
Service Coordinators can serve residents who are elderly or have a disability. "Elderly" is defined as age 62 or older. "Disabled" is defined three ways: 1) has a disability as defined in Section 223 of the Social Security Act; 2) has a physical, mental, or emotional impairment expected to be of long, continued, and indefinite duration that impedes the individual's ability to live independently, or 3) has a developmental disability.

Funding status
In Federal fiscal year 2006, HUD awarded 75 grants for a total of $12,105,849. These grants serve 78 developments, with a total of 6,038 units.