Program Spotlight – Housing Program
The Family Assistance Department of Sacred Heart Community Service (SHCS) operates one of the largest sites in the Santa Clara County Homelessness Prevention System (HPS). We offer other direct financial assistance to support households with financial need and prevent community members from being unhoused. We assist with past-due rent, emergency security deposit (to move into a new place), and subsidized VTA bus passes. Applicants are not asked about immigration status and can call 408-709-2364 or email us at housinginfo@sacredheartcs.org to learn about basic program requirements and pre-screening appointment availability.
Low-income Santa Clara County residents who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can receive help paying rent. Assistance is available through two separate, but complementary programs. Please visit SCCRentHelp.org or call 2-1-1 for specific eligibility criteria, information on how to apply, and to be connected to community partners who are available to help residents fill out applications.
In this past year the Family Assistance team has had the following accomplishments from June 2020 to July 2021:
3,435 people screened for assistance
1,848 households were given an intake packet to complete for financial assistance
8,425 individuals were served
430 individuals received a subsidized VTA bus pass every month totaling 5,160 bus passes
$1.7 million was given through the Homelessness Prevention System funding
Approximately $4.6 million was given with the Tenant Based Rental Assistance program for COVID-19 impacted households
Approximately $1.1 million was given in Phase two and three of our COVID-19 assistance to 272 households
We on boarded and trained 20+ volunteers to support us across the timeline of the year where they have supported in connecting members in the community to local resources, creating pre-screening appointments for rental and deposit assistance, and referred clients to COVID-19 rental relief program
The Family Assistance Program created the Lived Experience Advisory Committee in late November 2020 which is now composed of 20 members. Members contribute their ideas of how to improve the application process and to be in community with one another. The projects created and accomplished by the committee have been the creation of a Call Tree to improve the way in which members get a hold of team members depending on the inquiry, a visual representation and break down of the application to make the process is more clear and accessible, improving our current intake packet so it is more individualized and simple for the member, contributing their thoughts on an accessible website, along with expressing what improvements can be done to create better access to services at Sacred Heart with technology being a barrier in a hybrid virtual world.
We hope that in the coming year we hope to serve approximately 850 households with rental and deposit assistance through all of our funding opportunities including the COVID-19 rental assistance programs and disperse 5,000 subsidized VTA passes. Our goal, with support from our Community Development Team, is to continue finding flexible funding for those looking for deposit assistance. We intend to create more volunteer opportunities in our department to involve more community members in being a part of our work in working alongside our members in accessing assistance and creating services that work out of the white supremacy culture paradigm.
More than ever, many individuals need rental and deposit assistance. With increasing unaffordable rent prices in Santa Clara County and the protections against evictions ending September 30th, our community will see the economic impact of the pandemic on our low-income individuals the most. Many families have to decide whether to pay for food or for rent. This should not be a choice they have to make and experiencing housing instability should not be an experience anyone should have. Sometimes, our unhoused neighbors have secured permanent housing but cannot afford to pay the first month and last month’s rent plus a deposit, which some landlords are asking from some people. We have an amazing team who is passionate about serving our community and accompanying them alongside our members’ journeys in an empathic manner. Our goal is to prevent folks from becoming unhoused but also create services that connect our members to create systemic change. Housing is a human right and we must do our part to support our community.