Many struggling families and individuals need more than just a roof over their heads. Supportive housing provides affordable rental housing along with supportive services such as childcare, employment services, transportation, and chemical dependency support to address the personal difficulties that can prevent residents from maintaining stable housing. The Family Housing Fund provides financing and rent subsidies for supportive housing for single adults, youth, and families at risk of homelessness.
Similar to its programs in rental housing, the Fund assists supportive housing projects by pooling its funds with other subsidies so that housing providers can meet their costs while charging low rents that residents vulnerable to homelessness can afford. In addition to its contributions to the financing of supportive housing, the Fund works to improve the supportive housing system. For example, the Fund sponsored a study called Supportive Housing for Families with Children that documents the benefits of supportive housing for families. The study has been widely distributed, both locally and nationally. Also, the Fund contracted with Hart-Shegos and Associates to fund a major initiative to stabilize 14 existing supportive housing providers for families with children. Through the full participation of the providers, the initiative is greatly improving their facilities, operations, and support services. A Supportive Housing Provider Group, where providers come together to share best practices and lessons learned, has also developed out of this work. The Family Housing Fund is also an active participant in Governor Pawlenty's Interagency Working Group to End Long-Term Homelessness.
Since 1980, the Fund has invested $24 million to assist 113 projects, which have provided over 2,900 units of supportive housing, as well as rent subsidies to 1,200 households.