Brattleboro Housing Partnership
Public Housing Authorities
Public Housing (PH) was started by the Federal government in 1937 in response to depression era homelessness. The Federal government built developments that then became the property of local Public Housing Authorities (PHA). In 1962 the Town of Brattleboro applied to HUD to create the Brattleboro Housing Authority. It was the second to be established in Vermont. In 2013 Brattleboro Housing Authority adopted the dba name Brattleboro Housing Partnerships. The Board of Commissioners is appointed by the Brattleboro Selectboard.
BHP owns:
- Melrose Terrace, 25 of 80 original units currently vacant built in 1966
- Hayes Court, 72 units for elderly/nonelderly disabled built in 1970
- Moore Court, 28 family units built in 1972
- Ledgewood Heights, 42 family units built in 1980
- Samuel Elliot Apartments, 62 units of elderly/nonelderly disabled built in 1982
BHP partnered with Evernorth (formally Housing Vermont) to develop and now manage:
- Ann Wilder Richards, 21 units for elderly/non-elderly disabled built in 2010
- Red Clover Commons, 55 units for elderly/non-elderly disabled built in 2016
- Red Clover Commons II, 18 units for elderly/non-elderly disabled built in 2021
BHP manages:
- 212 Section 8/HCV vouchers – (Housing Choice Vouchers go with the tenant to rent from private landlords in the community)
- 20 Mainstream vouchers for non-elderly disabled
- 30 Shelter Plus Care vouchers with mandated case management for homeless/disabled
- 34 Project Based Vouchers in the community (Snow Block, Upper Story, etc.) (Project Based Vouchers remain with the apartment rather than the resident)
Financial
Public Housing and Section 8 eligibility is based on income – those with income over 80% of area median income are not eligible. Rents paid to BHP are based on household income. A resident/participant pays 30% of adjusted gross income (this can vary slightly in certain cases) regardless of their income or the size unit they rent. This means that an applicant can have no income and still be housed.
BHP’s fiscal year begins on 4/1, 2023-2024 finances:
- $7,130,259 in Revenue and $7,019,405 in expenses
- Assets $23 M
Current Programs
WELLNESS AND SERVICES GROUP: The Wellness and Services group includes, Support and Services at Home (SASH), SASH For All and is overseen by the Resident and Services Manager. Although not officially a part of the team overseen by RSM, LEAP (Learning Employment Academic Program) works collaboratively with the team. The goal of the team working together is to address property issues, organize on-site programming, and support housing retention to provide the best service to the residents.
Support And Services at Home (SASH): SASH coordinates the resources of social-service agencies, community health providers and Brattleboro Housing Partnerships to support residents who choose to live independently at home. Individualized, on-site support is provided by a Wellness Nurse and a SASH Care Coordinator. Benefits to SASH Participants include improved quality of life, comprehensive health and wellness assessments.
Participants receive individualized “Healthy Living Plans”. The program reduces health related costs through preventive health care which includes regular check-ins by caring staff, health coaching, access to wellness nurses, help in planning for successful transitions (e.g., following hospitalization), navigating long-term care options and support during a crisis.
SASH For All (SFA): SASH for All is built on the existing population-based model of SASH® (Support and Services at Home) framework. It supports individuals and families living in affordable housing to achieve self-identified goals while addressing existing and emerging trends of needs and opportunities for the population of the housing community. This pilot program in collaboration with Windham Windsor Housing Trust is entering its third year. There is a SFA Coordinator at BHP and one at WWHT and a SFA nurse at each entity.
Learning Employment Academic Program (LEAP): The LEAP Coordinator provides coordination for residents of BHP’s 5 RAD developments and BHP’s Section 8 Voucher participants and with other community agencies. The Coordinator is part of the Wellness and Services Group. Benefits to LEAP participants include a contract that ensures the guidance to take the appropriate steps in achieving the participant’s goals, assistance with community agency connections, support in navigating community resources, focus on housing retention, and programming that promotes growth towards achieving goals.
Resident Opportunity and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Program: BHP recently received three years of grant funding for this program which will begin in the summer of 2024.
RAD: The RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration) is a conversion from Public Housing funding to a Section 8, project-based voucher. The conversion allows the Housing Authority greater funding flexibility in capital needs funding and enables its tenants to continue to pay no more than 30% of their adjusted income towards rent. RAD offers residents the opportunity to convert the project-based voucher to a housing choice voucher, providing greater housing choice options. BHP provides 212 RAD/Project based voucher subsidies in its properties; Hayes Court, Samuel Elliot Apartments, Moore Court and Ledgewood Heights.
Hayes Court and Samuel Elliot are specific to those who are elderly/ non-elderly disabled and Moore Court & Ledgewood offer multi-bedroom apartments. Admission to all Section 8 and RAD Housing is based on annual income limits set by HUD. 75% of BHP’s annual admissions must have an income that is considered, “extremely low”, which is 30% or less of the HUD determined local median income.
MTW: The MTW (Moving To Work) is a designation for Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) that provides them the opportunity to design and test innovative, locally designed strategies that use Federal dollars more efficiently, help residents become self-sufficient, and increase housing choices for low-income families. MTW allows PHAs exemptions from many existing public housing and voucher rules and provides funding flexibility with how they use their Federal funds.
BHP became a MTW agency in 2021 to become more flexible with the way residents and the Brattleboro community are served. BHP’s MTW program has received waivers to do recertifications triennially rather than annually, do Section 8 HCV inspections triennially, and develop LEAP, increase our Project Based Voucher caps, exclude all post secondary student financial aid from family income, and create landlord incentives for HCV program. Each year BHP may submit an MTW Supplemental Plan asking for new waivers to increase our efficiency and meet our community needs.
TAX CREDIT: The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, created in 1986 and made permanent in 1993, is an indirect federal subsidy used to finance the construction and rehabilitation of low-income affordable rental housing. Washington lawmakers created this as an incentive for private developers and investors to provide more low-income housing. Without the incentive, affordable rental housing projects do not generate sufficient profit to warrant the investment.
The LIHTC gives investors a dollar-for-dollar reduction in their federal tax liability in exchange for providing financing to develop affordable rental housing. (e.g., a million dollars in tax credits means a million dollars less in federal taxes). Investors’ equity contribution subsidizes low-income housing development, thus allowing some units to rent at below-market rates. In return, investors receive tax credits paid in annual allotments, generally over 10 years.
Financed projects must meet eligibility requirements for at least 30 years after project completion. In other words, owners must keep the units rent restricted and available to low-income tenants. At the end of the period, the properties remain under the control of the owner.
Red Clover Commons One and Two and the A.W. Richards Building are tax credit properties.
SECTION 8 HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER (HCV): Enables the recipient to seek housing in the private rental market. The voucher is given to the individual and allows them to use it in any approved unit if the landlord agrees. Tenant contribution cannot exceed 40% of adjusted income during first year of lease. Allows for transfer to other locations throughout the US. BHP provides approximately 120 housing choice vouchers,
MAINSTREAM VOUCHER: Mainstream vouchers assist non-elderly persons with disabilities. Aside from serving a special population, Mainstream vouchers are administered using the same rules as other Section 8 housing choice vouchers. Currently serving 9. BHP’s Mainstream Voucher Program has a preference for applicants who are participating in one of the Rapid Rehousing Programs who meet the above criteria.
PROJECT BASED VOUCHER (PBV): The BHP is under separate contracts (4) with private property owners for a total of 34 long term subsidies at AW Richards, Snow Block, Upper Story and Red Clover Commons 2. The subsidy is tied to a specific unit and not the person. The recipient is allowed to convert the subsidy to a Housing Choice voucher after 1 year of successful tenancy. Project based vouchers cap the tenant share of rent to be no more than 30% of their adjusted income.
SHELTER PLUS CARE: Provides 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. All program admissions are by way of the Coordinated Entry system and all participants are required to receive monthly case management from either HCRS, Groundworks or Pathways Vermont. Participants pay 30% of their income for rent in the private market. The BHP serves approximately 25 participants per year.
BRATTLEBORO HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES, INC.
BHOI is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for elderly, disabled, youth and families by providing supplemental financial support for programs whose purpose is to offer cultural, educational, recreational and other quality of life experiences to residents and participants of Brattleboro Housing Partnerships.
BHOI was incorporated with the Vermont Secretary of State April 23,2003 as a state non-profit. It received its IRS 501(c)(3) status September 13, 2004. After some lapses in filings its status was reinstated by the IRS on August 27, 2018.