Enterprise continues to see strong results in the technical assistance the team provides to applicants of California’s Homekey program. Homekey is a signature California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) program that provides grants to local public entities, tribes and co-applicant developers to acquire and convert hotels, motels and other building types into supportive housing for persons experiencing homelessness.
Since its launch in 2020, it has been the fastest, largest and most cost-effective addition of supportive housing in California history. The program has become a cornerstone of the state’s strategy to address the homelessness crisis and has successfully re-engineered the strategy to create more housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Homekey Funding
Homekey’s first round of funding included $846 million from state, federal and philanthropic sources that helped create nearly 6,000 units of supportive housing for more than 8,200 individuals.
Homekey's second round of funding includes $2.75 billion over 2 Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA) releases with $72.5 million reserved for Tribal entities and $116 million set aside for transition-age youth (TAY) experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
In the first Round 2 NOFA, we have provided in-depth technical assistance and support to project teams across California from the application process through design and implementation. HCD received over 130 applications prior to the deadline of May 2, 2022. Of those, 91 were referred to Enterprise for technical assistance (TA).
So far, 21 projects that received TA through Enterprise have been awarded $260 million of funding from HCD, which will support over 900 units of supportive housing. In total, more than $1.1 billion has been awarded this round to support nearly 4,000 supportive housing units at 68 project sites across the state.
Interest and enthusiasm for Homekey have been tremendous, with applications and requests far exceeding HCD’s initial funding capacity. In response to such a high volume of funding requests, HCD will conditionally make available up to an additional $1.3 billion, appropriated for fiscal year 2022- 23, to fund eligible projects submitted by the May 2 application deadline. Projects conditionally awarded with funds from this appropriation will not receive Standard Agreements or have funds disbursed until after July 1, 2022.
Effective, Statewide Housing Intervention
Homekey proves that housing interventions can be deployed quickly and effectively statewide, unlocking immediate opportunities to shelter the most vulnerable unhoused residents. We are encouraged to see communities throughout California successfully implement Homekey projects and view the program as an important opportunity and tool in easing the homelessness crisis, both statewide and at the local level. We are also excited to work with state, local, private, tribal, nonprofit and philanthropic partners to ensure that funding makes it to lower-capacity jurisdictions.
As part of our ongoing technical assistance for Homekey, we have engaged with the John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) to develop strategies to ensure the program adequately serves TAY experiencing or at risk of homelessness. JBAY has organized a webinar on Wednesday, May 25 from 10 - 11:30 a.m. PT highlighting the progress of the Homekey program in addressing youth homelessness at the close of Round 2.
The webinar will spotlight two youth projects that have successfully been awarded Homekey funding: Mesa Ojai in Ventura County and Valley Lodge Apartments in Napa County. Representatives from each group will detail how their projects came together and what future programming is in store.
An HCD representative will discuss how youth have been prioritized throughout the second round of Homekey awards, and JBAY will provide resources for those interested in applying for the next round of Homekey, which will open later this year.
To learn more about our role in Homekey, please contact our Homekey Director Shanon Lampkins-Jones.