Self-sufficiency program’s grant renewed

The Vancouver Housing Authority has won renewed federal funding for its Family Self Sufficiency program, which works to get low-income households led by people who can work to a point where they no longer need government assistance.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it would give the housing authority $192,056 — a slice of the $1.95 million dispersed statewide among 15 agencies.

The VHA uses the money to pay the salaries of Family Self Sufficiency coordinators, who help people in public or subsidized housing find jobs, increase their earned income and connect with other services. Ideally, the family’s need for rental assistance ends up reduced or eliminated entirely, making room for another household on the wait list.

There are 2,820 households locally using the Housing Choice Voucher Program, otherwise known as Section 8, that covers at least a portion of rent. Another 3,200 households or so are on the wait list to get vouchers. Around 65 percent of clients are not able to work; they’re either elderly, disabled or both. The remaining 35 percent are able to work, but are often underemployed or struggle to secure a stable job that pays a living wage.

The VHA began getting Family Self Sufficiency funding from the federal government in 2006, said Hilaree Prepula, who manages the VHA’s self-sufficiency programs. Among the members of the 122 families currently enrolled in the program, 60 people work full time and 32 work part time. Wherever they’re starting from, the program is intended to help them move up the scale and require less financial subsidy.

Participants sign five-year contracts, committing to a set of goals to be achieved. In return, the VHA starts an interest-bearing escrow account that’s paid out to the family if they reach the terms of their contract by end of the five years. The amount in the account depends on increases in the family’s earned income. People often use the money for education or a down payment on a house. Last year, the VHA paid out $40,000 in escrow.

Because the current “housing situation is ebb-and-flow,” Prepula said, fewer people in the program graduate to homeownership these days. Households with vouchers may continue to rent their units but pay full price, market rent when they complete the program.