Arizona Advocates Use Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program and Housing First Model to Address Chronic Homelessness

The Arizona Housing Alliance (AZHA), an NLIHC State Coalition Partner, has joined with the Valley of the Sun United Way and Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) to reduce homelessness in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Advocates are utilizing the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC) and Housing First model to build supportive housing units for the region’s most vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness. By the end of 2012, more than 690 units were in various stages of development, placing advocates ahead of their 2013 development goal by almost 100 units.As the initiative’s leaders, United Way and CSH drafted a plan to reduce chronic homelessness in the region by 75% by 2020 through the development of 1,000 units of permanent supportive housing. The 2009 plan calls, which calls for all units to be built by 2015, represents an effort to move Arizona from a shelter-based model to address the homelessness crisis to a Housing First model, which places homeless people directly into housing and includes support services. The organizations worked intensely to develop support through partnerships with local, state, and national leaders, advocates, service providers and lawmakers. A core group of stakeholders was established to help carry out the initiative.United Way’s Ending Homeless Advisory Council (EHAC), of which AZHA is a member, helped oversee the supporting housing plan’s development and implementation. As the groups worked to gain support for the project, EHAC led a group of stakeholders to Utah, a state socially and politically similar to Arizona, to observe how a comparable initiative was implemented to reduce homelessness. Many stakeholders joined the initiative following their positive assessment of the plan. Advocates then created the Supportive Housing Institute to help non-profit organizations and housing developers learn about the LIHTC award process and the creation of supportive housing units. In its first year, five non-profit agencies crafted supportive housing development proposals with the intent to apply for the LIHTC program. The institute rapidly grew in popularity; by 2010, more than 150 permanent supportive housing units were under development. Advocates report that the institute has helped to significantly increase development capacity in the region, which has helped to achieve the initiative’s unit goals. The Arizona Department of Housing added a permanent supportive housing set aside to the State Qualified Allocation Plan while local housing authorities have set aside project-based vouchers paired with Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers to house homeless veterans. The United Way has redirected grants to fund supportive services, as well.“The leadership of Valley of the Sun United Way—combined with the best practices of the Corporation for Supportive Housing—is changing lives of the chronically homeless while freeing resources to help those at risk of homelessness or experiencing first time homelessness,” said Val Iverson, executive director of the Arizona Housing Alliance. “The collective impact of this initiative is ending homelessness in the region.” For more information, contact Val Iverson, [email protected].