In 2007, the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) received tax credits to renovate two buildings in the Tenderloin district that house low-income seniors, but wasn’t able to exchange their tax credits for cash until after the passage of the ARRA (American Reinvestment and Recovery Act) in 2009. With the new ability to fund the project, construction and renovation on the buildings should begin this week.

These housing units were contracted under Section 8 of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, allowing low-income individuals or families to pay a portion of rent rather than market-rate rent. The previous owner of the building had thought about selling the building to a private investor who would convert the units into market-rate housing, forcing most, if not all, of the senior residents to try and find somewhere else to live since they could not afford market rates on their monthly income.

Thanks to the TNDC who bought the buildings, these new units will be retrofitted and include community rooms and an outdoor garden. This building project is the first in San Francisco to take advantage of the ARRA funds and benefit the community by employing constructions teams and providing affordable and humane housing for the marginalized and underprivileged. It’s efforts like this that improve the Tenderloin neighborhood and the lives of the guests that St. Anthony’s helps.

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By combining affordable housing with services, supportive housing allows low-income and formerly homeless people to live stable, dignified lives. Supportive housing is especially beneficial for people with serious health issues that may contribute to chronic homelessness: issues like substance abuse, mental illness, or HIV.

It is very important to remember, especially in difficult budget times, is that the support service component in supportive housing is just as important as the housing component. Unfortunately, one of the budget balancing strategies that San Francisco is considering this year is to remove some of the supportive services from supportive housing programs. On April 22,  St. Anthony Foundation joined together with agencies who provide supportive housing to speak to the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee about the importance of supportive services in supportive housing.

St. Anthony’s was glad to support our friends in the supportive housing community as they pointed out that supportive housing saves money by helping formerly homeless people avoid evictions, shelters and expensive emergency services. The employment, money management, counseling, and health services provided in supportive housing help keep people housed while promoting dignity and respect and preventing unnecessary spending on emergency services.

A cost-saving program that helps promote dignity and respect while allowing some of San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents a safe secure place to live and receive services? That should be something that everyone should agree is a good investment!

The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual “Out Of Reach” report was released last week with information for 2009.

According to Out Of Reach 2009 (released last week by the National Low Income Housing Coalition), California’s “Housing Wage” is now $24.83 per hour. The Housing Wage is the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford rent and utilities for an average two-bedroom apartment. The typical renter in California earns $17.52 per hour. An individual earning minimum wage ($8.00 per hour) would have to work 124 hours per week to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.

An estimated 58 percent of California renters do not earn enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent.

Many people think of poverty programs as schools or hospitals. Poor people come to the program, they use the tools they are given, they graduate from poverty. They find the cause of their poverty, they are cured.  The next group comes in.

At St. Anthony’s we have thousands of guests who do graduate. They learn new skills or they learn to speak English. They get clean and sober or they get health insurance. They find a job that will allow them to live independently.

But many of our guests face multiple barriers to participating in society. They live with both physical disabilities and mental health problems. They struggle with an addiction and they struggle with illiteracy. They are elderly, which is not a disease and has no cure.

These are the guests we hope to keep connected to our programs, not to graduate. If they keep coming back to St. Anthony Social Work Center, they can access benefits and keep the stable housing we’ve helped them find and get help managing their limited incomes. If they keep coming to the Free Medical Clinic, they can get help managing a chronic illness and get medication on the spot, so they don’t forget to take it. If they remain in the Madonna Senior Residence, they can built strong relationships with other residents and blossom anew by aging in place.

These are the guests we hope will stay in community with St. Anthony Foundation. Their lives will become more stable; they may even become more self-sufficient. But their strength lies in staying together, not in “graduating.” And by remaining in community here, they make our community strong.

San Francisco has a unique opportunity in the November election to support city funding for the creation of housing that’s affordable to low- and middle-income San Franciscans.

The San Francisco Housing Fund will be on the November 4 ballot, and we are looking for volunteers who would like to be part of a speakers bureau that will help to educate the community about the measure. Volunteers will be trained to speak to community organizations and church groups about the SF Housing Fund, and will be able to sign up for speaking engagements.

The Housing Fund has scheduled two trainings for the speakers bureau to accommodate as many volunteer speakers as possible.

1) Tuesday, August 19, 10:00 AM – noon: 1095 Market @ 7th Street, 7th floor. Community Housing Partnership.

2) Wednesday, August 20, 6:00 – 8:00 PM: 405 Shrader Street @ Oak Street. Council of Community Housing Organizations.

To sign up for a training, call St. Anthony Foundation Advocacy Coordinator, Colleen Rivecca @ 592-2729 or email crivecca@stanthonysf.org.