Policy & Legislation
MHSA Housing NOFA Released
On August 6, 2007, the state released its long-anticipated Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Housing Program. The program provides $115 million per year for capital development and operating subsidies for permanent supportive homes (homes with services) for individuals with mental illness and their families.
This new, dedicated funding stream will significantly help communities provide supportive-home options and decrease homelessness. Counties will partner with local developers to submit projects for over-the-counter review.
The MHSA Housing Program is a groundbreaking collaboration between California counties and state agencies, including the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), and the Department of Mental Health.
Over the past year, Housing California participated in the development of the MHSA Housing Program and we're pleased that the program allows the flexibility to reach underserved segments of our population (at deep, income-targeting levels) and that it includes shared housing as an option.
The counties' pledge of $40 million for operating subsidies shows a real understanding of the challenges in supportive-home development. The pledge shows the counties' solid commitment to transform how we treat people who are homeless and/or mentally ill in California by acknowledging that recovery cannot happen without an affordable, safe place to live. The MHSA Housing Program working group has set an excellent foundation upon which the mental health and housing communities can continue working to address homelessness by increasing the supply of supportive homes.
We urge developers take advantage of this new and exciting funding source by working with their counties to submit applications. Technical assistance is available for small counties, where eight percent of the funds has been set aside for them.
To view the full guidelines and access the MHSA Housing Program Application, visit the MHSA Housing webpage.
Contact: Zack Olmstead, (916) 447-0503 x 108 or .
