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barriers to landlord participation such as concern about short-term nature of rental
assistance and tenant qualifications, assisting households to complete applications and
prepare for interviews with landlords, helping households to determine if a housing option
meets their needs and preferences, and help with moving. It could also include identifying
co-housing with a friend or family member if that is the most appropriate option for
permanent housing.
o Rent and Move-In Assistance –The primary barrier to permanent housing for many families
experiencing homelessness is their limited finances. To address this barrier, rapid re-housing
programs offer financial assistance to cover move-in costs, deposits, and the rental and/or
utility assistance (typically for six months or less) necessary to allow individuals and families
to move immediately out of homelessness and stabilize in permanent housing. In some
instances, households may need and qualify for longer term rental assistance, such as
through a Housing Choice Voucher (i.e., “Section 8”), to permanently escape homelessness
and achieve housing stability. In this case the time-limited financial assistance may serve as
a bridge until the voucher is secured.
o Rapid Re-Housing Case Management and Services - At a minimum, a rapid re-housing
program must include case management, but it may also include other services, such as
tenancy supports. Case management and services may be provided to households to help
overcome and troubleshoot barriers to (re)acquiring and maintaining permanent housing.
Case management services in rapid re-housing programs can help individuals and families
select among various permanent housing options based on their unique needs, preferences,
and financial resources, address issues that may impede access to housing (such as credit
history, arrears, and legal issues), negotiate manageable and appropriate lease agreements
with landlords, and make appropriate and time-limited services and supports available to
families and individuals—and to the landlords who are partnering with the rapid re-housing
program. Case management services can also monitor participants’ housing stability after
securing housing and during program participation, ideally through home visits and
communication with the landlord, and be available to resolve housing-related crises should
they occur.
Case management will also, as appropriate, assist households with connecting to resources
that help them improve their safety and well-being and achieve their long-term goals. This
includes providing or ensuring that households have access to resources related to income
and health care benefits, employment and community-based services (if
needed/appropriate) so that they can sustain rent payments independently when rental
assistance ends. Case management services should be client-directed, respectful of
individuals’ right to self-determination, and voluntary. Unless basic, program-related case
management is required by statute or regulation, participation in non-financial services
should not be required to obtain or maintain rapid re-housing assistance. Since rapid re-
housing is a short-term, crisis response program, case managers typically do not attempt to
directly address all of the service needs they may identify. When households arewilling and
able, case managers help them connect to community-based services that already exist.
Rapid re-housing providers should have knowledge of where to find and how to access
these community-based services. Moreover, rather than simply providing referrals to
community-based services on behalf of a household, rapid re-housing providers can enlist