HUD and HHS Announce nearly $98 million in Section 811 Project Rental Assistance to 13 States, including Massachusetts - February 12, 2013

WASHINGTON – To prevent thousands of people with disabilities from experiencing homelessness or unnecessary institutionalization, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced nearly $98 million in funding for 13 state housing agencies for rental assistance to extremely low-income persons with disabilities, many of whom are transitioning out of institutional settings or are at high risk of homelessness.

HUD’s support of these state agencies is made possible through the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (PRA Demo) which enables persons with disabilities who earn less than 30 percent of median income to live in integrated mainstream settings.  The state housing agencies are working closely with their state Medicaid and Health and Human Service counterparts to identify, refer, and conduct outreach to persons with disabilities who require long-term services and supports to live independently.

DHCD was awarded $5,276,452 under the Program, which is detailed below:

Massachusetts’ Department of Housing and Community Development and its Executive Office of Health and Human Services (which oversees the state’s Medicaid Agency and the Office of Disability Policies and Programs) have worked together collaboratively on a number of highly effective service-enriched housing programs and will now be working together on the Section 811 PRA Demo program.  The target populations under the Section 811 PRA Demo are persons in institutions enrolling in the state’s Medicaid-funded Money Follows the Person demonstration program (MFP), persons in institutions who are not eligible for MFP but are eligible for one of the state’s home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers; and persons in institutions who are not eligible for either MFP or a waiver, but who are eligible for Medicaid State Plan services; and persons living in the community who are receiving services through a waiver.  The proposed program is deliberately designed to be cross disability and will provide 100 units, serving a range of people with different disabilities and service needs.  Projects will be located throughout the state, though 50 percent of the units are projected to be in the greater Boston area.

Please click here to read the full press release on HUD's website.