Permanent Supportive Housing and Targeted Affordable Housing Storymap
Over the past two years, the District has expanded its housing voucher program for people experiencing chronic homelessness by more than 100%. For the first time, ending chronic homelessness is in sight. Still, though, the process of getting vouchers to the people who need them is complicated and time-consuming. This page tries to make sense of the process and create greater visibility into our progress so far, and the continued challenges we face.
Housing Programs
Rapid Rehousing for Individuals
RRH-I is a short-term subsidy program that assists individuals experiencing homelessness in finding affordable permanent housing. Rental assistance and support services are provided for 12 months based on the household's needs.
Targeted Affordable Housing (TAH) provides a permanent rental subsidy to households who need assistance obtaining and affording housing – often due to their age or a disabling condition. Households in TAH are often connected to community resources and are able to maintain their housing without intensive case management. Households are prioritized for the TAH program through the Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement (CAHP) system.
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) is an evidence-based intervention that combines housing assistance through a permanent rental subsidy with voluntary supportive services to address the needs of chronically homeless individuals or families. The services are designed to build independent living and tenancy skills and connect people with community-based health care, treatment, and employment services. To be eligible for PSH, individuals or families must be homeless for more than a year or have had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years, and the head of household must have a diagnosed disabling condition. Households are prioritized for the PSH program through the Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement (CAHP) system.
Bridge Housing provides adults experiencing homelessness with semi-private rooms and individualized case management to support more effective connections to permanent housing.
Housing Resources for Veterans
For more information about the Local Veterans PSH program, which provides long-term housing vouchers and intensive case management to eligible veterans, see Permanent Supportive Housing. For more information on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, please see HUD’s website. For more information on how to access the HUD-VASH program in DC, please see Friendship Place’s website.