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Supporting Young Adults to Obtain Housing

5/4/22

Alice Colegrove & Ayala Livny: Senior EOHHS Consultants

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Introductions: Introduce yourself in the chat with Name, Pronoun, Region, and how long you have been in the field

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GOALS for today

#1 Learn how to better support a young adult in the housing process

(empowerment now= housing sustainability later)

#2 Get equipped with hands on resources/tools for housing search and engaging landlords

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Common Goal:

Preventing & Ending Youth Homelessness =

making experiences of homelessness

rare

brief

& one-time

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I need to help my clients find housing!

What are the challenges you are facing?

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Part I: Preparation

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How do we best prepare YYA to be housed successfully?

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Pre-Work for Success: Overview

What does the young person want?
What is their income? What can they realistically afford to pay for rent?
What independent living skills do they have?
What safety concerns must be considered?
Does the youth have the necessary documents to get housing?

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What does the young person want?

What questions do you ask?
What things do they identify?
When do you ask them?

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What does the young person want?

Ask about:

Community
Neighborhood
Transportation
Proximity to resources & people
Roommates

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Income

When do you discuss budgets with your clients?
How do you determine what they can actually afford to pay for rent?
What do you do when they realistically cannot afford what they want?

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BUDGETING WORKSHEET Use the worksheet below to create a monthly budget plan. If you have an expense that is not paid monthly, convert it to a monthly amount. For example, if you pay your car insurance bill every six months, divide the amount on the bill by six.
Category	Monthly Amount	Notes
Income
Salary/ wages (after taxes and other deductions)
Benefits (SSI, SSDI, TANF)
Food stamps
Other income (under-the-table work; family support etc)
INCOME SUBTOTAL

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Independent Living Skills

What independent living skills are needed to be successful in living independently?
How and when do you assess where a client is at and what they might need?

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Health & Well-being (Safety Concerns)

What safety concerns do you bring up when talking with clients about housing?
What kinds of housing may reduce risks?

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Health & Well-being (Safety Concerns)

Mental Health
Substance use
Neighborhood safety for specific individual concerns
Neighborhood memories / triggers

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Documents

What documents have you needed for clients to apply for housing?

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Documents

Income: last three pay stubs
References (professional & personal)
Bank statements
Credit check

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Reflection

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Part II: Housing Search

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WHAT KIND OF HOUSING ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? (AND WHY?)

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Types of Housing to Consider

Public Housing
Market Rate Housing
Programs (ie:transitional living programs)

Considerations for both obtaining and keeping housing. These two categories differ

Public Housing:in public housing, the housing authority owns your building and is your landlord

you can apply via CHAMP: https://publichousingapplication.ocd.state.ma.us/

Households with limited income, including receiving SSI, SSDI, may be eligible for subsidized housing.

Market Rate: in subsidized housing, the housing authority is not your landlord. Subsidized housing is owned and operated by private owners who receive subsidies in exchange for renting to low- and moderate-income people. Owners may be individual landlords or for-profit or nonprofit corporations.

rental assistance can come in the form of a voucher

Programs: is your client going to need support with life skills? (these often have wait lists, so engage these programs as early as possible)

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Market Rate Considerations

Price: what is affordable? Is a subsidy needed?
Location (often goes hand-in-hand with price)
Shared Housing: Roommates or not?
Private landlord vs large building

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What is a subsidy

Can be short or long term
“Subsidy” often = vouchers

The tenant finds rental housing in the private market and the subsidy is paid to a private landlord
Section 8
FYI/FUP

Can be short term: Rapid ReHousing or rental assistance

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Finding Affordable Housing

The MassAccess Housing Registry helps people to find affordable rental opportunities.

www.massaccesshousingregistry.org/

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Landlords - one of the keys to finding a place

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Background: Landlord Engagement

YYA have low “rental capital”
Find landlords who are willing/ able/ excited to work with your program and clients
Have to “think like a landlord” -- reduce risk + maximize return

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Understand Landlord Concerns

Rent payment on time
Property Damage
Tenant “problems” (Nuisance)
Empty units

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Finding Landlords: “Leave No Stone Unturned”

Be clear about what you can offer to a LL - respond quickly!
Ask everyone you know
Cold call landlords
Send brochures & direct mail out to landlords in buildings and areas where you want to refer clients (and follow up with a visit or call)
Attend landlord networking meetings; Try to get on the agenda for a landlord association meeting

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Crisis Intervention

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I’m working with a youth

in housing crisis NOW, where do I go?

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Regional Coordination:

10 EOHHS funded regions provide supports & services

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https://www.mass.gov/orgs/homeless-youth-services

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Preparation
Housing Search
Crisis Intervention

Summary

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Questions/ Comments/ Parking Lot

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Alice Colegrove

alice.j.colegrove@mass.gov

Ayala Livny

ayala.livny.consulting@gmail.com