A Long-Term Solution: Permanent Supportive Housing

A homeless shelter provides a safe place to sleep for a night.

But permanent supportive housing provides a home: a place to create a life, with stability, autonomy, and dignity.

“Permanent Supportive Housing is one of the most effective ways to serve folks who are chronically homeless, including those with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental health issues, those who struggle with addiction, or those who might be exiting institutions like prison or jails or mental health facilities,” said Katrina Van Valkenburgh, Managing Director of the Central Region for the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH).  “It’s a type of affordable housing that also offers on-site services for those who need support to live independently.”

Developing supportive housing projects, however, is a complex and challenging process. That’s why CSH is partnering with the Kansas City Housing Department to host the 2024 Kansas City Metro Supportive Housing Institute. The 2024 Institute is designed to help supportive housing partners navigate that complex process.

LISC Greater Kansas City is spotlighting the Institute as part of our focus on increasing the availability of quality affordable housing. Currently, there is a lack of affordable housing and services in the Kansas City area, particularly for youth, adults, and families that are homeless or at risk for homelessness. 

Research confirms that supportive housing is an effective and cost-efficient way to house formerly homeless people. Since the U.S. began prioritizing funding for permanent housing, homelessness has fallen nearly 10% nationwide, according to CSH. Similarly, federal rental assistance for veterans has led to a 40% decrease in veteran homelessness nationwide. The stable environment of permanent housing helps address the causes of homelessness, at much lower cost than temporary shelters or treatment in hospital settings.

On-Site Support

A key feature of supportive housing: Services are offered on-site, typically following a case management model. A staff person is readily available to connect tenants with services they need. Permanent housing tenants sign leases, with all the rights and responsibilities of leaseholders, but also enjoy access to services.

“A lot of folks in supportive housing have histories of eviction,” said Van Valkenburgh. “A case manager can help them set up a payment plan if they're in arrears on rent, or connect them to employment services, for example.”

Two examples of successful permanent supportive housing developments in Kansas City:

• St. Michael’s Veterans Center, a 24-acre campus with 117 apartment homes and recreational areas. Professional staff assist veterans in meeting basic needs, such as food and personal care items, and in managing issues such as employment, health and wellness, mental illness, trauma, and addiction recovery. The campus boasts a coffee shop, movie theater, and community garden. Ninety-eight percent of tenants have maintained permanent housing.
  
• Eileen’s Place, a supportive housing project of Metro Lutheran Ministry, with 60 housing units for families with children. Tenants can access case management and coaching in life skills, parenting, financial management, and employment, as well as assistance in meeting basic needs like food. The project gives children a stable environment.

Financing permanent supportive housing typically involves multiple funding sources.

“It’s much like affordable housing, but with supportive housing, we need service funding as well as capital,” Van Valkenburgh said. That’s typically a combination of public and private sources, which may include HUD dollars, Medicaid, state or local public housing authority vouchers, or philanthropy. In addition, low-income housing tax credits attract investors who provide financing from the private sector.

Often, developers of supportive housing face opposition from neighbors, who may fear supportive housing will lower their property values, increase crime and affect quality of life in the neighborhood. Research, however, paints a different picture. One study of supportive housing developments in New York, by New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy, found that properties nearest to supportive housing experienced strong and steady growth. Those closest to the housing appreciated more than comparable properties located further away in the same neighborhood.

“When we're building a supportive housing project, we're investing in a community,” Van Valkenburgh said. “It might be a new construction on vacant property, or a rehab of a building that maybe has been vacant for a long time. It can bring jobs to the neighborhood.”

Most importantly, for people struggling with chronic homelessness, permanent supportive housing offers a chance for a stable and meaningful life.

“Once someone moves from the street to housing, they are able to think beyond survival,” Van Valkenburgh said.