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HUD Issues Notice of Funding Availability for New Supportive Housing Units
On May 14, 2012, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for $85 million for the development of new permanent supportive housing units targeted to extremely low-income non-elderly people living with disabilities, including serious mental illness. This NOFA has funds allocated by Congress for FY 2012 for the new project-based rental assistance (PRA) demonstration authorized as part of the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010. It is projected that this $85 million total will fund as many as 3,000 new supportive housing units.
Why the New NOFA is Important
This new PRA program is expected to become the principal federal response to the severe housing crisis experienced by non-elderly adults with serious mental illness. Applications are limited to state agencies that administer existing HUD affordable rental housing development programs. It will therefore be critical for state and local NAMI organizations to press state officials, including their state mental health authority, to apply (the NOFA actually requires coordination between housing and services). These funds will be a critical resource for states in promoting community integration and alternatives to reliance on restrictive housing settings such as nursing homes and adult care homes, as well as chronic homelessness.
NAMI is planning a webinar for state and local NAMI organizations to help ensure that as many states as possible apply in advance of the July 31 deadline for applications.
Read further information.