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Become a SHA Member and get access to great meetings and many other great member benefits. Need more information? Email Joseph Christensen with your questions.

Join the Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey as we mark our 24th Annual Supportive Housing Conference on November 4, 2022. As we prepare for Breaking New Ground, Growing Opportunities, we are seeking workshop submissions that express the diversity of ideas and advances made over the last year in New Jersey's supportive housing community.

Your knowledge and workshop proposals help make our annual conference a success! Get the word out to hundreds of attendees and share the latest updates affecting supportive housing with our statewide community.

To submit a proposal for consideration, complete & submit this form.

Proposals are due by end of day on Friday, July 29, 2022, via email.

Email completed proposals / questions to: SHA-conference@shanj.org

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs will be opening the State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) waiting list on July 11.

SRAP pre-applications can be submitted ONLINE with the use of a personal computer, laptop, smart phone, or tablet by going on-line at https://www.WaitlistCheck.com/NJ559. No pre-applications will be accepted at the Agency.

Please go to https://nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/srap.html for further information.

On October 1, 2021, Day Services Rates (i.e. Career Planning, Community Inclusion Services, Day Habilitation, Prevocational Training - Group and Individual, and Supported Employment - Group and Individual) were increased due to one-time funding. The amount of the increase was calculated using projections that did not meet actual utilization of services. To correct this moving forward the Division will increase day service rates by an additional 3% effective July 1, 2022. Notice of rate increase has been published on the Public Notices section of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services website. A direct link to the notice can be found here.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a first-of-its-kind package of resources to help communities implement coordinated approaches for assisting people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, including funds set aside specifically for vulnerable people in rural communities. This package—the Initiative for Unsheltered and Rural Homelessness—includes grant funds along with additional vouchers that will enhance communities’ capacity to humanely and effectively solve unsheltered homelessness by connecting vulnerable individuals and families to housing, healthcare, and supportive services. This Initiative for Unsheltered and Rural Homelessness being made available by HUD strongly promotes partnerships between health and social service providers and public housing authorities (PHAs). 

Important: There will be one HMFA board meeting held on August 11, 2022 for applicants seeking a conditional financing commitment. Applicants seeking a conditional financing commitment at the August 11, 2022 meeting of the HMFA board must submit a complete financing application by no later than COB on July 6, 2022. The financing application submission must contain the required documentation as listed in the UNIAP to be deemed a complete financing application. Please refer to the UNIAP page 12, for the required documentation to be submitted. An incomplete financing application submission will not be processed nor advanced to the HMFA Board meeting for a conditional commitment.

The multi-family financing application fee is $4,000. The application fee for the Special Needs Housing Trust Fund Program is $1,000 for those projects applying to the Supportive Housing Cycle and for projects setting aside additional special needs units above the five units needed for points. Payment of the application fee is required for an application to be processed. For wire payments, please contact Ivelisse Melendez-Aguirre at 609-278-8884 or email at imelendezaguirre@njhmfa.gov.

Please contact Karen Howland, KHowland@njhmfa.gov, or Ivelisse Melendez-Aguirre, imelendezaguirre@njhmfa.gov, for questions regarding the electronic Leapfile application submission process.

This issue brief will provide a brief overview of New Jersey’s Medicaid HCBS infrastructure for older adults, identify where there are opportunities to advance equity in the HCBS infrastructure, and recommend policy solutions leveraging those opportunities to build an equitable HCBS infrastructure in New Jersey. The inequities in access to Medicaid HCBS arise out of discriminatory views of individuals with disabilities of all ages, including older adults, being less valuable to society, and society’s desire to isolate them into isolated and confined settings.

New Jersey’s Medicaid program plays an essential role in helping older adults remain living in their homes and connected to their communities by providing coverage for supports known as Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS). New Jersey offers a wide array of HCBS including personal care, adult-day services, and assisted living, to name just a few. However, equitable access to HCBS remains a challenge in New Jersey and across the country. This paper is aimed at supporting New Jersey policymakers, state staff, HCBS providers, and aging and disability advocates in developing an equitable Medicaid HCBS infrastructure.

The following excerpts from ACL's Alison Barkoff, Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging and Erica McFadden, Director – Office of Independent Living Programs sheds light on the progress made in 23 years and the work that is still needed after this landmark legal case.

While we have made so much progress, too many people who can and want to live and fully participate in the community still do not have that opportunity. I am proud of the work we are doing together to change that – and of the difference our work has made during the pandemic. As we mark this 23rd anniversary of Olmstead vs L.C., let’s celebrate and reflect on those accomplishments, and use them energize for our continued work to make true inclusion for people with disabilities a reality. - Alison Barkoff

The anniversary of the Olmstead decision reminds us of the importance of the work we do in ACL’s Office of Independent Living Programs, with centers for independent living (CILs) helping deliver on the promise of Olmstead. Designed and operated by people with disabilities, CILs across the nation provide independent living services for people with disabilities in their communities. By statute, every CIL is required to help people with disabilities move from institutions to homes in the community, and they also support individuals at risk for institutionalization.

In the past three years alone, CILs have served 711,223 people and helped 11,564 people with disabilities move from institutions back into the community. Partnerships and creativity are critical success factors. CILs work collaboratively with partners in the aging and disability networks, including area agencies on aging, state protection and advocacy programs, and aging and disability resource centers, and bring together funding from all sources to support people with disabilities living where they want to live. -Erica McFadden

On a recent episode of "Last Week Tonight" with John Oliver, he examines how the American rental market averaged over $2000 per month for rent nationally for the first time in May of 2022. He also explores what can be done to address a rising rent market system that appears stacked against tennants.

HOBOKEN, NJ — As rents continue to rise nationwide, especially in the Hoboken/ Jersey City area, a court rendered a decision in a long-fought battle over whether Hoboken developers have to set aside 10 percent of their units as affordable housing.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) yesterday released Freddie Mac's and Fannie Mae's (the Government-Sponsored Enterprises, or GSEs) Equitable Housing Finance Plans for 2022-2024. The GSEs developed their respective Equitable Housing Finance Plans, which are designed to describe the GSEs’ intentional efforts to advance racial equity in the housing finance system, following FHFA's Request for Input (RFI) and public listening session in September 2021. These plans highlight actions that will be pursued by the GSEs to address barriers experienced by renters, aspiring homeowners, and current homeowners, particularly in Black and Latino communities. Freddie Mac’s Equitable Housing Finance Plan includes strategies to increase the efficacy and acceptance of Housing Choice Vouchers, including through Freddie Mac loan offerings; build credit and equity for renters; and identify and implement enhanced baseline tenant protections. Fannie Mae's Equitable Housing Finance Plan comprises strategies to help Black renters with no credit score establish a credit history and help those with low credit scores to increase them, and to defray and/or decrease the cost of renter security deposits to help Black renters qualify for quality rental housing and increase their savings.

NLIHC released a new report and set of resources showing how states and localities are leveraging Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to invest in affordable housing and homelessness prevention and services. The new report, State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Initial Trends in Housing Investments, documents how jurisdictions are using the $350 billion SLFRF program to keep families housed during the pandemic, tackle the growing homelessness crisis, and develop affordable housing to address the root causes of housing instability and homelessness. A new webpage makes available to the public data from NLIHC’s SLFRF database and includes an interactive map identifying state and local housing investments with SLFRF, along with other resources for housing advocates and policymakers.

HUD issued Notice CPD-22-09: Expedited Regulatory Waivers for the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), Continuum of Care (CoC), Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP), and Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) Programs. This Notice advises recipients of ESG, CoC, YHDP, and HOPWA Program funds that they may apply for certain regulatory waivers through an expedited process to help recipients and subrecipients prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to facilitate assistance to eligible communities and households economically impacted by COVID-19. The use of the expedited waiver process only applies to waivers explicitly stated in Section D.1 of the Notice.

The Notice explains the process for submitting expedited waiver requests and provides directions to recipients on how to submit requests for processing. A recipient may request a waiver of the HUD requirements listed in Section D.1 of the Notice and must include a justification of why the waiver is needed. No waiver(s) requested may be implemented unless written approval from HUD has been obtained. To ensure expedited processing, recipients should reference the instructions on page nine of the Notice and should email their waiver requests to SNAPSinfo@hud.gov and send a copy to their local Field Office Community Planning and Development (CPD) Director. Waiver requests must be received by HUD on or before July 31, 2022, to be designated for expedited processing as provided by the Notice.

Visit the CPD COVID-19 Grantee Guidance page on HUD.gov for resources related to COVID-19 infectious disease prevention and response for CPD programs, including ESG, CoC, YHDP, and HOPWA.

The rule proposals are available online on the Department of Human Services’ Proposed Rules and Amendments website, or can be found in the New Jersey Register’s June 20, 2022 edition, 54 NJR 1117(a); 54 NJR 1137(a); and 54 NJR 1146(a).

Doug.Swan@dhs.nj.gov 

N.J.A.C. 10:67, Psychological Services, can be downloaded free of charge at http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/njcode. Please submit any comments that you have regarding this advance notice of the upcoming amendments to N.J.A.C. 10:67 to:

Email: Margaret.Rose@dhs.nj.gov

The Supportive Housing Training Center offers practical, interactive, online training that empowers staff to build their skills and provide high-quality supportive housing and services in their community. They offer dozens of virtual trainings, including live webinars, webinar series, and on-demand trainings on topics that are essential to service providers, supervisors, property managers, and other staff. Topics include Trauma-Informed Care, crisis intervention and de-escalation, managing supportive housing teams, property management in supportive housing, Fair Housing, and more. You can browse their trainings on their website or view their training catalog here and a flyer about their offerings here.

Sign up for the Essentials for Providing Services course that starts this week and receive access to six live webinars on the essentials topics for services providers working in housing programs. Learn about and apply key concepts including trauma-informed care, harm reduction and engagement, and housing stability and services coordination.

Don't forget that SHA Members get an additional 20% off of training with CSH. Just email Joseph Christensen for your SHA discount when you register for training.

Questions on these training opportunities? Contact training@csh.org.

Join in on Monday, June 27, 1:30-2:30 p.m. ET for the third webinar in the Social Justice Leadership Academy Learning Series. We will explain how systemic inequities rooted in race, gender, ethnicity, age and class have created lasting and damaging health disparities and discuss the barriers to wellbeing faced by those in marginalized communities. You will leave this session with concrete solutions you can implement on a personal and organizational level to dismantle unjust systems and structures.

Click here to register today   

Once a year, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS) and the State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) host public forums to provide information on available services for individuals with disabilities and receive input from the community. This year, you can choose to join us virtually on either July 12th or July 21st.

The public forum registration is now open from June 1^st to July 1^st.

To attend these forums please click on the link and register. The forums will be virtual so you must register to attend.

There are many great ways of supporting SHA: Join as a member, send donations, or shop with AmazonSmile. Thank you for your support!

Want all the member benefits with SHA? Visit our website or contact Joseph Christensen to apply or manage your membership.

Members can post jobs to find applicants within the wider supportive housing community. Click on the button to visit our job page.