On May 20, 2009, the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009 was signed into law. The HEARTH Act amended the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento) by consolidating the Supportive Housing Program and the Shelter Plus Care program into a new program-the Continuum of Care program. It also revised the Emergency Shelter Grants program and renamed it the Emergency Solutions Grants program. It also created the Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program and repealed the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation for Single Room Occupancy Program. However, the old McKinney-Vento programs are, in limited cases, still in use.

Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Program: Formerly authorized under section 441 of McKinney-Vento, HUD entered into annual contributions contracts (ACCs) with public housing agencies (PHAs) in connection with the moderate rehabilitation of residential properties. These PHAs made Section 8 rental assistance payments to participating landlords on behalf of homeless individuals who rent the rehabilitated dwellings. Owners are compensated for the cost of rehabilitation (as well as the other costs of owning and maintaining the property) through the rental assistance payments. At the same time, each unit need a minimum of $3,000 of eligible rehabilitation to qualify for the program. Existing grants are eligible for renewal under Section 8, as authorized by the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (MAHRA).

Shelter Plus Care (S+C): Formerly authorized under Title IV, subtitle F of McKinney-Vento, S+C provided rental assistance for homeless people with disabilities, primarily those with serious mental illness, chronic problems with alcohol and/or drugs, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and related diseases. Rental assistance grants must be matched in the aggregate by supportive services that are equal in value to the amount of rental assistance and appropriate to the needs of the population served. Rental assistance is provided through four S+C components: (1) Tenant-based Rental Assistance (TRA) provides rental assistance to homeless persons who choose the housing in which they reside. Residents retain the assistance if they move; (2) Sponsor-based Rental Assistance (SRA) provides rental assistance through contracts between the grant recipient and a private nonprofit sponsor or community mental health agency established as a public nonprofit entity that owns or leases dwelling units in which participants reside; (3) Project-based Rental Assistance (PRA) provides rental assistance to the owner of an existing structure where the owner agrees to lease the units to homeless people. Residents do not take the assistance with them if they move; and (4) Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation for Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Dwellings provides grants for rental assistance. Existing grants are eligible for renewal under the Continuum of Care Program.

Supportive Housing Program: The Supportive Housing program was authorized under Title IV, subtitle C of McKinney-Vento, and it was designed to promote the development of supportive housing and supportive services to assist homeless persons in transitioning from homelessness, and to promote the provision of supportive housing to enable homeless persons to live as independently as possible. Eligible activities include acquisition and rehabilitation, new construction, leasing, supportive services, operating costs, administrative costs, and development or implementation of Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS). Existing grants are eligible for renewal under the Continuum of Care Program.

Information Source: Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development; local HUD field offices.

On the Web: https://www.hudexchange.info/homelessness-assistance/hearth-act/