No Place Like Home

Availability of Grant Funds for Counties

 to be used for the development of 

Permanent Supportive Housing

Riverside University Health System – Behavioral Health would like to hear from development partners who are interested in developing permanent supportive housing in Riverside County.  To submit an Expression of Interest, click the Expression of Interest Online Application below to enter information using a submission portal OR click the Expression of Interest PDF Paper Application and submit as directed.

Competitive funds:  A NOFA was released in October 2020 by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (CA – HCD) for Round 3 No Place Like Home (NPLH) competitive funds. Applications were due on January 19, 2021.  CA-HCD is expected to announce awardees in June 2021. 

These funds may be used to acquire, design, construct, rehabilitate, or preserve permanent supportive housing, which may include a Capitalized Operating Subsidy Reserve.  Please refer to No Place Like Home Program Draft 2020 Amended Guidelines at  http://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/active-funding/nplh.shtml for more complete information about the NPLH program and funding availability. 

Applications for Round 2 were due in January 2020.  Awards were announced in June 2020 for approximately $195 million in Round 2 funding.  A list of Round 2 awardees can be found here.  Please see the news release on this page for more information about Round 1 awards. 

Under NPLH Program, counties may apply for funding solely or jointly with development sponsor(s).  Riverside County intends to collaborate with qualified developer(s) with relevant experience in affordable housing development, permanent supportive housing, serving special needs populations, multi-family property management and asset management.  

Interested parties should respond by submitting an Expression of Interest to Riverside University Health System – Behavioral Health by accessing the Expression of Interest Online Application below to enter information using a submission portal OR by utilizing the Expression of Interest PDF Paper Application and submitting it as directed. 

Contact:

Marcus Cannon, 951-715-5050 and MCannon@ruhealth.org

General Background

On July 1, 2016, Governor Brown signed landmark legislation enacting the No Place Like Home (NPLH) program to dedicate $2 billion in bond proceeds to invest in the development of permanent supportive housing for persons who are in need of mental health services and are experiencing homelessness, chronic homelessness, or who are at risk of chronic homelessness. The bonds are repaid through funding from the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA).

NPLH funds are used to finance capital costs of units in rental housing developments, including acquisition, design, construction or rehabilitation costs associated with the rental housing community along with capitalized operating subsidy reserves. 

Key features of the program include:

• A requirement that permanent supportive housing utilize low barrier tenant selection practices that prioritize vulnerable populations and offer flexible, voluntary, and individualized supportive services.
• A requirement that the County commit to provide mental health services and help coordinate access to other community-based supportive services for residents.
• A restriction on the amount of rent charged to be no more than 30 percent of the Area Median Income, as defined in the No Place Like Home Program 2020 Amended Guidelines

For a complete explanation of the NPLH program, please review the  No Place Like Home Program 2020 Amended Guidelines, issued by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

Population to be Served

Permanent supportive housing is intended to be provided to adults with serious mental illness, or children with severe emotional disorders and their families and persons who require or are at risk of requiring acute psychiatric inpatient care, residential treatment, or outpatient crisis intervention because of a mental disorder with symptoms of psychosis, suicidality or violence and who are homeless, chronically homeless, or at risk of chronic homelessness.

At risk of chronic homelessness includes persons who are at high risk of long-term or intermittent homelessness, including persons with mental illness exiting institutionalized settings, transition age youth experiencing homelessness or with significant barriers to housing stability.

Process for Obtaining Funding

Counties are eligible to apply for funding acting independently as a development sponsor or together with another entity.    RUHS – BH intends to develop and submit applications for funding in collaboration with qualified developer(s) with relevant experience in affordable housing development, permanent supportive housing, serving special needs populations, multi-family property management and asset management.   Awards are made on a competitive basis as more fully described in the No Place Like Home Program 2020 Amended Guidelines. 

To qualify for funding, the County must submit a Housing Plan to the California Department of Housing and Community Development that specifies the goals, strategies and activities that are in process or that will be initiated to reduce homelessness and make it non-recurring for the population identified above. 

The Housing Plan must reflect input from the following groups:

• County representatives with expertise from behavioral health, public health, probation/criminal justice, social services and housing departments;
• The HUD Continuum of Care for the County;
• Housing and homeless service providers, especially those with experience providing housing or services to those who are chronically homeless;
• County health plans, community clinics and health centers, and other health care providers;
• Public housing authorities; and
• Representatives of family caregivers of persons living with serious mental illness

Riverside University Health System – Behavioral Health has developed and submitted a Housing Plan in collaboration with the groups identified above and others.  The Housing Plan is available on this website.

Development partners who are interested in developing permanent supportive housing in Riverside County are encouraged to submit an Expression of Interest. Click the Expression of Interest Online Application below to enter information using a submission portal OR click the Expression of Interest PDF Paper Application and submit as directed.