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Dec
17

Housing programs

The King County Behavioral Health and Recovery Division (BHRD) oversees a variety of behavioral health housing programs. This document provides an overview of those programs.

For more information, please contact Charlotte Lefler, Behavioral Health Housing Specialist, at clefler@kingcounty.gov or 206-263-3638.

Crisis Housing Vouchers (CHV)

CHV provide short-term stays (up to 28 days) at hotels, motels, or with a family member or friend. CHV target individuals who are assessed to need more intensive support and stability immediately following a behavioral health crisis and are intended to increase the opportunity for stability while awaiting more permanent housing solutions.

Eligibility Requirements:

  • An individual is a King County Recovery Navigator Program participant; and
  • Clinically assessed to be experiencing a behavioral health crisis; and
  • In need of supportive housing services; and
  • Experiencing homelessness or is unstably

Referral Process: King County Recovery Navigator Programs can connect program participants to CHV funding.

Community Behavioral Health Rental Assistance (CBRA)

CBRA provides rental subsidies for individuals with behavioral health conditions and their households and has limited capacity to offer housing search and placement support. CBRA can fund a range of housing costs, including costs related to emergency housing, securing housing, move-in, and rent. CBRA typically pays for private market housing integrated within the community where there is no support located on-site.

CBRA acts as a housing subsidy provider and does not offer behavioral health or housing support services, but instead partners with programs that offer supportive housing services to support individuals with complex behavioral health needs as they live independently in the communities of their choice.

Eligibility Requirements:

  • Household income is at or below 50% of Area Median Income as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and
  • An adult household member has a documented Behavioral Health Condition; and
  • The same adult household member is eligible for a long-term support services program; and
  • The same adult household member has a documented need for long-term housing subsidy with no other suitable resource that can meet the long-term subsidy need.

Referral Process: As capacity allows, the CBRA referral window will open and program referrals will be accepted. Referrals are submitted via the CBRA Referral Form.

Referral selection will be prioritized based on the following criteria.

  • First priority: Eligible individuals discharging or needing to discharge from a State psychiatric hospital or long-term civil commitment bed.
  • Second priority: Eligible individuals discharging or needing to discharge from a community psychiatric inpatient bed or who have discharged from a

State psychiatric hospital or community psychiatric inpatient bed within the past 12 months.

  • Third priority: Eligible individuals

Governor’s Housing/Homeless Initiative (GHHI)

GHHI provides housing bridge subsidy to reduce instances where an individual leaves a State- operated or private behavioral health facility directly into homelessness. GHHI provides funding for identification documents, application fees, moving expenses, transitional housing fees for up to 2 months, move-in costs, home sustainability items, barrier removal costs, and other costs.

Eligibility Requirements:

  • An individual is an Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) Behavioral Health and Outreach program participant; and
  • Transitioning out of an inpatient behavioral healthcare setting, and
  • At risk of homelessness upon discharge from the inpatient behavioral healthcare

Referral Process: The AOT Behavioral Health and Outreach programs at Community House Mental Health Agency, Therapeutic Health Services, and Valley Cities can connect program participants to GHHI funding.

High Support Shelter and Housing Resource Navigation Program

The High Support Shelter and Housing Resource Navigation Program provides high support shelter and housing resource navigation at the time of diversion from criminal prosecution to behavioral health treatment and at the time of discharge from crisis stabilization services.

High support shelter provides an environment with support staff that are on-site 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and is available for a temporary, but extended period of time while participants partner with housing resource navigation supports to develop and identify longer- term housing solutions.

Eligibility Requirements:

  • An individual is 18 years of age or older; and
  • Homeless; and
  • Connected to a program that supports diversion or deferment from criminal prosecution to behavioral health treatment or discharging from crisis stabilization into

Referral Process: DESC and Purpose Dignity Action administer the High Support Shelter and Housing Resource Navigation Program and have different referral processes.

Housing Access and Services Program (HASP)

HASP connects individuals with disabilities to United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) through the King County Housing Authority which can be used across King County, not including Seattle or Renton. Participants will pay around 30% of their household income for rent and utilities. The YWCA also offers HASP participants optional access to support services related to their HCV.

Eligibility Requirements:

  • An individual is between the ages of 18 and 61; and
  • Diagnosed with a mental health disorder or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder; and
  • Enrolled with a publicly funded behavioral health provider; and
  • Meets one of the following situations:
    • Homeless, which includes living in transitional housing; or
    • Involuntarily displaced from housing, for example by disaster, domestic violence, or due to a hate crime; or
    • Living in substandard housing; or
    • Rent burdened, meaning they pay more than 50% of total income for rent and utilities for at least 90 days; and
  • Household income meets extremely low-income criteria, meaning household income is at or below 30% of the Area Median Income as defined by HUD for King County.

Referral Process: The following programs can refer participants to HASP.

  • King County District Court Community Court
  • King County Hospital Liaisons
  • King County Mental Health Residential Utilization Management Team
  • King County Superior Court Family Treatment Court
  • Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT)
  • South King County Housing First Program
  • Standard Supportive Housing Program

Housing and Recovery Through Peer Services (HARPS)

HARPS provides time-limited housing support services and housing bridge subsidy to support individuals who are exiting an inpatient behavioral healthcare setting. HARPS housing support services include housing search and placement services, advocacy for tenants, housing stability services, social and community integration skills training, and linkage to other services. HARPS housing bridge subsidy provides time-limited funding for certain housing related expenses, including 3 months of rent and utilities, rental/utility arears, move-in costs, application fees, moving costs, and up to 30 days of hotel/motel expenses while engaging in a housing search.

Eligibility Requirements:

  • An individual is 18 years of age or older; and
  • Experiencing a serious mental illness (SMI), substance use disorder (SUD), or co- occurring SMI and SUD; and
  • Being released or recently released from an inpatient behavioral healthcare setting*; and
  • At risk of homelessness upon discharge from the inpatient behavioral healthcare

*This is typically within 4 months but can be longer on a case-by-case basis if there is an unforeseen circumstance that is impacting their recovery and ability to stay safely housed.

Individuals with an open King County authorization for Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) Engagement or PACT Enrollment, who meet the first 2 criteria above and are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or are homeless or at risk of homelessness and being released from or at risk of entering an inpatient behavioral healthcare setting are eligible for HARPS housing bridge subsidy.

Referral Process: PACT can connect program participants to HARPS housing bridge subsidy.

For all other referrals, each month, HARPS referral applications will be accepted during 2 separate referral windows. To submit a HARPS referral application, use the HARPS Referral Form located on the King County Housing and Residential Services webpage and email securely to KCHARPSreferrals@p-h-s.com.

  • 1st Referral Window: 8 am on the 1st day of the month to 6 pm on the second Monday of the month
  • 2nd Referral Window: 8 am on the 3rd Monday of the month to 6 pm on the 4th Monday of the month

At the end of each referral window, a limited number of eligible applicants will be randomly selected to enroll in HARPS. Selected applicants will be contacted.

Applicants that were not selected will not be contacted, and all applications that were not selected will be deleted. If the referent wants to re-submit the HARPS referral application during a future referral window, they are free to do so, but they will need to re-submit the referral application during the next referral window through a new email thread.

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