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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSmart Share Housing Solutions HSG 2024-25 ApplicationHuman Services Grant Application 2024-25 Application Questions Part 1 Basic Information 1. Organization Name * Smart Share Housing Solutions, Inc. 2. Fiscal Agent (if different than above)* n/a 3. Project/Program Name * Community Housing Provision/Homeless Prevention 4. Requested Amount * $14,460 5. Name of Person Completing Application * Vicki van den Eikhof 6. Name of Person for Grant Communication and Contract for Grant Cycle (if different from above)* Vicki van den Eikhof 7. Organization Mailing Address * P.O. Box 15034, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 8. Phone * 805-215-5474 9. Email * vicki@smartsharehousingsolutions.org Part 2 Organizational Information 1. Purpose/Mission Statement * Smart Share Housing Solutions' mission: creating housing solutions by connecting people and homes. The agency aims to more effectively tap existing resources for added safe, sustainable, affordable housing and homeless prevention, e.g through extra bedrooms, backyards and infill development sites that already have roads and driveways and city utilities nearby which can be used for lower cost affordable home development, often provided with minimal government subsidy by homeowners themselves. 2. Briefly describe your organization’s purpose, vision, primary activities, and operating structures * *PURPOSE: Smart Share Housing operates in order to provide safe, affordable housing and social service connection to San Luis Obispo County residents, primarily lower income senior women, who face challenges both with housing and with community connection and isolation, in many cases; *VISION: An inclusive, thriving community with safe, affordable housing for all; *PRIMARY ACTIVITIES: Smart Share Housing operates three programs, 1) HomeShareSLO, 2) ADU-SLO and 3) Co-Living Collaborative, which: 1) help facilitate homeshare matches between mostly low income senior women; 2) assist residents to construct Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs) and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in their backyards to provide more lower cost housing and help provide added income for home maintenance and ownership; and 3) to develop the Waterman Village, a co-living community of small all affordable homes clustered around an rehabilitated historic adobe at 466 Dana Street in the City of San Luis Obispo; All of the activities undertaken by the organization are aimed generally at helping residents understand that there are many more housing options available or that can be created than is commonly understood--and that a variety of residents can be empowered and participate in creating housing options, through homesharing and ADUs, etc. than throwing up their hands and sighing, "It's futile!" or unrealistically expecting magic silver bullets to solve the problem; *OPERATING STRUCTURE: The agency operates under a 9 member volunteer board of directors, who oversees a part-time executive director, who manages 3 part-time staff. Staff oversee roughly 30 project volunteers, with this number variable and rising to as many as 96 for specific activities such as the Tiny Footprint Expo; 3. Name of Executive Director * Anne R. Wyatt 4. Name of Board President or Chair * Joanna Balsamo-Lilien 5. Number of paid staff (full or part-time)* 4 6. Number of volunteers * 30 7. Describe the community(ies) your organization supports * Smart Share Housing aims to maximize our community’s resources and expertise by providing housing solutions for those of modest financial means, with services that are not duplicative of other community partners. Through this lens, Smart Share Housing Solutions serves San Luis Obispo County residents who are low-income (up to 80% Area Median Income) and needing affordable, sustainable housing; and who do not require additional supportive case-managed services offered through transitional or permanent supportive housing efforts. *General population CA/US--education, organizing and advocacy work statewide and nationally to help promote availability of affordable housing options, particularly homesharing & accessory dwelling units--smaller, more affordable by design types of homes--through partnerships and membership in National Shared Housing Resources Center, Casita Coalition, etc. *Lower Income Residents of San Luis Obispo County--while the agency does not restrict all services to lower income residents, upwards of 80% of direct services provided are to this population, with 76% of home providers lower income and 96% of home seekers in the HomeShareSLO program low income, for example. Waterman Village will be 100% low income affordable housing. *City of San Luis Obispo Residents--make up the largest component of the service group, with the highest majority of interested home seekers desiring to live in the City and a large population, hosting a high number of senior home providers as well. In the past year, 23 City residents became HomeSHareSLO clients, with 11 City residents currently in HomeSHareSLO matches and roughly 500 City residents served with housing services, training and mentoring. The 11 program matched City residents received a direct financial benefit of more than $118,000 in 2023 in terms of rental income received and rental savings, as compared to renting a comparable studio apartment in the City. In addition to direct benefit, clients maintain the ability to age in place and gain companionship and security at home. *Single senior women--while not often considered, this growing segment of the population has special challenges, with limited income (single women make, on average, $1450 per month in social security, not enough to survive) and increasing levels of isolation. With the growing number of women over 80, in particular, these challenges are increasing. More than 80% of HomeShareSLO clients are single senior women, who have a large supply of extra bedrooms and need for added income and companionship and ability to age in place that homesharing and ADU construction assists with. *Lower Income Homeowners & Renters-agency programs assist both homeowners to maintain their homes and stay in their homes as they age, on limited incomes, and also assists renters, often struggling to find safe, affordable places to live, to find low cost housing. *Government and other social service partners--developing affordable housing takes years and costs upwards of $450,000 per home now. Also, long wait lists exist to "win" a slot in the lottery for this limited supply of subsidized affordable homes. The programs of the agency help expand low cost home supply in the private market, with small government subsidies (in the range of $2000-$15,000 per home). This expands supply of homes at lower public cost, which helps residents and helps existing housing and service providers and governments struggling to provide for CIty and County residents. HomeShareSLO, for example, provides housing in the form of extra bedrooms to residents on wait lists for longer term subsidized senior housing, and relieves some of the stress for struggling residents awaiting more permanent solutions that take longer times to get into. 8. Approximate Annual Budget * $140,000 9. Major Sources of Funding * Private donor 40% Government entity 40% Fees for service/contracts 10% private foundation 10% Part 3 Project/Program Information 14. In the table below include a minimum of four (4) metrics or performance outcomes that relate to the implementation/success of the project. Examples include: # of SLO City residents served, # of referrals provided to individuals seeking social services. Methods of Evaluation Indicators of Success / Measurable Outcomes 8 City of SLO events/workshops providing information about housing options minimum attendance 40 City residents, who learn about homesharing, ADU and Waterman Village small home and other available housing options SLO City resident HomeShareSLO client intake Minimum of 10 SLO City resident new client intakes HomeShareSLO program Provision of housing mentoring services, referrals to other assistance and Smart Share programs, by phone and email Provided to a minimum of 50 City of SLO residents to assist them with housing needs, whether Smart Share can serve them or other agencies Production of a Waterman Village Community Residency Plan Completion of Community Residency Plan, so as to be able to start recruiting eligible Waterman Village residents by 2025 1. Please provide an executive summary of proposed project/program * The program is a two pronged approach, providing immediate direct housing to City residents now and planning for broader longer term housing support in upcoming years: 1) Direct housing support and homeless prevention for City residents now in a proven program, through provision of City support for a portion of City of SLO resident HomeShareSLO housing match costs, and 2) Innovative future affordable, sustainable, community enhancing housing provision, through funds for crafting the Waterman Village Residency Plan. Because the Waterman Village will be the City ’s first car-free, all affordable eco-village, it is essential that detailed expectations for and of residents be clear in advance for this 20 home community. This process, involving research on other project terms of residency, fair housing law, utility monitoring and billing planning, solicitation of community input from stakeholders, including potential Village residents, and legal review will be essential to undertake in the coming year, as the Waterman Village is entitled and permitted to begin construction and resident occupancy nears. Planning for appropriate resident rules and expectations so as to create and maintain a thriving community is a detailed process that Smart Share looks forward to undertaking now with City support. 2. Total Project Cost?* $32,450.00 3. Requested Project Amount * $14,460.00 4. Please provide a detailed description of proposed project/program * Smart Share provides non-duplicative proven and new innovative housing services to primarily lower income City and County of San Luis Obispo residents, providing short term direct housing to City residents now and planning for broader longer term housing support in upcoming years through new projects and programs. For example, with the agency inception in 2016, homesharing seemed an unproven concept to many. In years since, Smart Share’s HomeShareSLO program has facilitated 101 homeshare matches, serving 160 unique clients and 56 City of San Luis Obispo clients with housing needs and $2,464,350.00 in direct client benefits and has provided housing mentoring and support for more than 460 unique program clients and thousands more through phone, email, event and website information provision. More at: https://www.smartsharehousingsolutions.org/homeshareslo-program/ It has been possible to build on opportunities in local and state law and infrastructure and match them with community need. To capture opportunity, Smart Share Housing has added the ADU-SLO program to assist with small home production in backyards and the Co-Living Collaborative, now developing the Waterman Village at a city owned infill site, 466 Dana St., a small affordable home, eco-village, centered around the historic Rosa Butron de Canet Adobe, vacant and boarded up for roughly 30 years. An innovative approach and collaborative spirit with a high level of community support and involvement have been required to pull the project forward, with entitlement hearings expected to be conducted soon– in May and June, 2024 and construction to commence in 2025. Elevations and project description/history here: https://www.smartsharehousingsolutions.org/waterman-village/ 1) Direct housing support and homeless prevention for City residents now in a proven program, through provision of City support for a portion of City of SLO resident HomeShareSLO housing match costs Opening up extra unused bedrooms is the quickest and least expensive way to get housing for people who need it, at a cost of under $3000 per home created. Still, it’s a cumbersome process involving outreach, screening and monitoring, to make sure the process works with a high level of security protections for mostly at-risk elder adult clients. Homesharing makes use of underutilized rooms to create a safe home for housing seekers priced out of the local market, while helping homeowners and renters with an extra bedroom to age in place by bringing much-needed income and social connections to their daily life. Creating a successful homeshare match is a human-based, time-intensive challenge, but when a stable match is achieved, a 3 bd/2 ba home housing one isolated senior has become a comfortable home for two residents, each with their own private living space, plus opportunity to connect and help each other. Homesharing fills a critical gap particularly for vulnerable clients, senior women and the disabled, who don't feel confident or safe using Craigslist to find a housemate. The program helps seniors age-in-place, promotes better health, lowers isolation and allows pets to have homes, too. As a result clients show a reduced need for health and social services and other city services. Smart Share has been able to leverage base operational funding from cities with private, foundation, faith group and state funding to operate a program now serving all County residents. Smart Share requests general operating funding from the City in the amount of $5960 to cover: Security Client Screening fees $42 x 10 SLO CIty resident client intakes=$420; [23 SLO City clients screened in 2023] Intake processing 10 City residents@ $150 (5 staff hrs @$30/hr) per application =$1500 Matching and match monitoring support for 5-15 SLO City matched clients =58 staff hours @$30/hr=$1740; [current SLO City matched clients= ] Outreach & Training events/activities to recruit program clients and provide information on homeshare opportunities available @ 8 events in City SLO; 8 events @ $250/event=$2000 Outreach Print & email materials production @ $300 Total HomeShareSLO operating requested $5960 2) Innovative future affordable, sustainable, community enhancing housing provision, through funds for crafting the Waterman Village Community Residency Plan. Because the Waterman Village will be new to the City, it’s first car-free, all affordable eco-village, the planning process takes a high level of work; there is no pattern to follow and it’s not possible to copy residency plans from different projects. As such, upcoming resident outreach and success in long term occupancy will rely on well crafted, clear and reasonable expectations for community- enhancing long-term residency. Smart Share develops the Waterman Village with an interest in welcoming a diverse segment of the community into its 100% affordable permanent homes. The agency has spent four years now, along with hundreds of community volunteers and donors, designing a project that honors and restores the historic adobe as a centerpiece and provides 20 affordable, energy efficient homes near transit and services. While maintaining a welcoming spirit, the Smart Share team recognizes that Village residency is not going to be for everyone: energy efficient homes will be small, at less than 300 square feet; there will very limited on-site resident parking; limited storage; and while the community-centric design of the Village will be a draw for many, it will be unsuitable for others. As such, resident conduct and community service participation expectations will be imperative to create and convey in advance of resident outreach and prospective resident application. A recent high profile example of a housing project that did not invest in this process in advance was the County’s Oklahoma/Kansas Avenue Safe Parking. While the housing provided benefits residents there compared to no services out on the streets, the lack of pre-planned and agreed upon expectations between residents and the County created a high level of friction, uncertainty and safety concerns from the get-go. The Waterman Village development team aims to avoid and minimize uncertainty and conflicts with advance collaborative planning and management plan in place ahead of client occupancy. The Residency Plan must detail expectations for Village management and for resident tenure. While many residency items will be standard to affordable housing communities in the area, e.g. quiet hours, pet and guest allowances, etc. the Waterman (Eco) Village is anticipated to have added expectations for residents, including community service, waste reduction, vehicle trip reduction/transportation demand management (TDM) and monitoring of utility use in the small homes, for example. Specific activities required and rough cost for Community Residency Plan completion include: Research–assemble and review local affordable and, if possible, other similar types of eco-village terms of residency, fair housing law, options for utility monitoring and billing, etc.; staff and volunteers @ 300 hours total /100 staff hours @ $35/hr.=$3500 Solicit community input–from stakeholders, including potential future residents, donors, neighbors, construction and management team; staff and volunteers @ 100 hours total/40 staff hours @ $35/hr=$1400 Draft Plan–staff @ 35 hours @ $35/hr.=$1225 Plan Finalization & Legal review–staff and legal consultants; staff 20 hours @ $35/hr=$700; legal consultants @ $1500 Waterman Team and Board of Directors approval; staff and volunteers @ 20 hours/ 5 staff hours @ $35/hr=$175 Total Community Residency Plan requested $8500 of $18,125 Development of affordable housing within City limits is essential. Strategic support for project pre-development costs is essential to a successful process and final construction. Additionally, the City has an interest in the rehabilitation and use of its historic Rosa Butron de Canet adobe. Planning for neighborhood and community benefitting resident rules and expectations so as to create and maintain a thriving, affordable, connected–and ultimately replicable–Village is a detailed process that Smart Share looks forward to undertaking now with City support. With the Waterman Village Residency Plan complete by June 2025, the end of the 2024/25 fiscal year, outreach for resident application may begin as early as late 2025, and the team at Smart Share Housing anticipates welcoming community residents to the Waterman Village soon after. 5. Describe the community/population the project/program will support.* The project supports lower income San Luis Obispo City and County residents, primarily single, elder adult women, struggling to maintain housing and other essential life supports on an average of $1450 social security income per month, with limited outside income and savings. At the same time these elder adult women, often "elder orphans" with no family and family support, struggle with costs of housing and home maintenance, they often struggle with isolation as a result of limited mobility and limited ability to make use of online technology that can help connect other populations. 6. The HRC has identified homeless prevention including affordable and alternative housing, supportive services, and transitional housing as the main funding priority. Does your grant request meet this funding priority?* Yes No 7. Which other priority of the non-ranked HRC funding priorities does your request support? Please check the appropriate boxes:* Hunger and malnutrition prevention Supportive physical and mental health services for those in need Services for seniors and/or people with disabilities in need Supportive and developmental services for children and youth in need Services encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusivity in marginalized communities 8. Provide timeline for project * July 2024-June 2025; HomeShareSLO operating– ongoing, grant period 1 year; Waterman Village Community Residency Plan, grant period 1 year to complete; 9. Identify any partnerships/collaborations that are supporting this project/program and their roles * The Smart Share team collaborates with a wide array of organizations and individuals including: national, statewide, county and city governments and non profit organizations to share best practices and a contingent of local homeowners, who can provide housing solutions at minimal public cost through opening up extra bedrooms and constructing affordable ADUs in backyards, given the technical assistance and resources to do so. Smart Share board members and staff sit on the National Shared Housing Resource Center Board, Casita Coalition Board and locally participate in Homeless Services Oversight Council (HSOC) meetings, and share information and resources with Adult Services Policy Council, Healthy Communities Working Group, SLO Village and other housing and senior serving agencies. More than 220 individuals have donated funds and time toward the development of the Waterman Village, over the past 4 years to date, totaling upwards of $900,000 in cash, pledges and donated time, and Smart Share is pleased to partner with the City of San Luis Obispo on project development on its 466 Dana St property. 10. Describe your plan for sustainability beyond the City’s one-year award funding * Smart Share commenced operations in 2016, with a diverse funding stream, including private donations, fees for service, faith community contributions, volunteer in kind services, private foundation and government grants–state, county and local. As such, the program leverages relatively small amounts from multiple sources and is not dependent upon any single funding source. Further, Smart Share operates keeping in excess of recommended reserves, with a fiscally conservative strategy, keeping more than six months operating funding in reserves. Finally, Smart Share minimizes operating overhead expenses, with no office, no equipment, no staff health insurance or fringe benefits The Waterman Village development, under way, has been financed, to date, largely through generous private donations of cash and in kind volunteer services, with support from the City and County of San Luis Obispo. Once project entitlement is secured, Smart Share anticipates securing the final development balance required over a two year period through further state and local affordable housing and sustainable cities funding, from private foundations and individual donors and from project loans for gap funding, as necessary. 11. Describe the plan for promoting this project, program, or service within the City of San Luis Obispo * Smart Share has some luxury in the respect of affordable housing provision; with the high level of need, housing seekers find us. That said, it is essential to solicit housing seekers the program can serve (for example, single persons, as the program has not been effective in housing families) and in soliciting an increased number of qualifying home providers to make the HomeShareSLO program work. With COVID health and safety concerns still affecting community behavior and willingness to share home spaces, enlisting willing home providers has become more difficult for program staff. The highest level of success in project promotion in the City of San Luis Obispo has been small informal events, such as Smart Share’s monthly coffee chats and Demo Cottage workshops, where interested parties can learn about program offerings, see a very small home, ask questions and meet potential housemates with no obligation. These workshops are promoted through print flyers posted in places clients are, e.g. senior centers and coffee shops, and through website calendar listings and e-newsletter postings, with a distribution of over 900 persons, primarily San Luis Obispo residents. Smart Share thanks the City of San Luis Obispo for its support of enhanced upcoming outreach efforts, anticipated to expand program reach. 12. Est. Number of people served through this project/program * 985 13. Est. Number of SLO City Residents served through this project/program * 260 Attachments Copy of Organization’s most recent complete fiscal year financial statement (for the previous year because it is the middle of the current fiscal year) including a statement of financial position/balance sheet, statement of revenue & expenses/income statement, profit & loss. Financial Statement * SmartShare Housing FY 2023 BalanceSheet_P&L_IncomeStmt..pdf 198.39KB 1-page Organization Chart * Org Chart & BOD(1).pdf 202.93KB Document Certifying Federal Tax-Exempt Status * IRS-tax-exempt-determination-HomeShareSLO.pdf 410.98KB 1-page detailed budget for the program including how the total requested amount of grant would be spent.   Budget * Smart Share Housing--Community Housing Provision Project Budget 2024_5(1).pdf 229.44KB 1-page DEI statement that includes: Applicants’ understanding and application of DEI Affirming language that creates access and a sense of belonging in our community apart from grant Explain how this project will advance DEI in the City of SLO DEI Statement * SSHS-Diversity-Inclusion-SLOCityHumanSvcs2024.pdf 255.79KB Creating Housing Solutions by Connecting People and Homes ↓↓ Organizational Chart &Board of Directors 2024 9 member volunteer board of directors (funding and policy) Board Members:Joanna Balsamo-Lillian,chair;Marianne Kennedy,past chair; Lisa Gonzalez,financial officer;Celeste Goyer,secretary;Erik Berg-Johannsen; Michael Byrd;Adam Clark;Grace Crittenden,MD;Carl Meissner Full BOD Bios here:https://www.smartsharehousingsolutions.org/about-us/ ↓ Executive Director–AR Wyatt ↓ Deputy Director–V van den Eikhof; HomeShareSLO Client Services Manager–R Fuss; Administrative Asst.–M Wong Full staff Bios here:https://www.smartsharehousingsolutions.org/about-us/) ↓ Operational and Policy volunteers Advisory Council–policy support HomeShareSLO program volunteers Outreach volunteers Waterman Village Development Team Activity/event support Research support Creating Housing Solutions by Connecting People and Homes Estimated Itemized Project Budget:Community Housing Provision 2024/5 Project Description Itemized activities SLO City Funded Outside/match funded Total Homeshare Intake, screening & Matching services 1)Client background screening fees 10 clients@ $42=$420 15 SLO CIty clients@$42=$640 $1060 2)client intake processing 5 staff hrs per intake@$30/hr.=$ 150x 10 clients=$1500 15 SLO City clients @ $2250 $3750 3)matching & monitoring support 58 staff hours @$30/hr=$1740 50 staff hrs.@ $30=$1500 $3240 4)outreach events 8 events @ $250/event=$2000 4 events @ $250=$1000 $3000 5)outreach materials –print/virtual Print and virtual material production $300 Virtual content production and distribution $2000 $2300 6)Overhead $0 $1500 $1500 HomeShare Total $5960 $8890 $14,850 ***Waterman Village Community Resident Plan 1)Research & Training–Fair housing etc. 100 hrs.@ $35/hr.=$3500 200 hrs.volunteer/in kind=$7000 $10,500 2)Stakeholder input 40 hrs.@ $35=$1400 60 hrs.volunteer/in kind=$2100 $3500 3)Review Draft 35 hrs.@ $35=$1225 0 $1225 4)Final Plan 25 hrs staff plus attorney=$2375 0 $2375 Community Resident Plan Total $8500 $9100 $17,600 Total Project $14,460 $17,990 $32,450 ***The Waterman Village development is a multi-year,multi-million dollar project undertaken with the City and other foundation partners,with Smart Share contributions expected at approximately $3.5 million. Smart Share has been increasing reserves to ensure ability to cover site planning,development & fundraising costs of this new project with a capital budget substantially greater than existing program operations. Creating Housing Solutions by Connecting People and homes Inclusion,Diversity,Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy Inclusion and Diversity Smart Share Housing Solutions seeks to foster an organization,and a community,that encourages understanding,appreciation and acceptance of all,including staff,volunteers and clients. With that goal in mind,Smart Share Housing Solutions believes that broad representation and participation add significant value to the experience of everyone involved with the organization and that these valued experiences are enhanced by embracing underrepresented and underserved individuals and communities. Equal Opportunity Smart Share Housing Solution’s Equal Opportunity policy is to not discriminate against any potential employee,volunteer or client based on age,gender,sexual orientation,ethnicity/ nationality,religion,disability,medical history or veteran status.The policy includes,but is not limited to,the following:recruitment,employment,promotion,demotion,transfer,compensation, layoff,termination and selection for training and/or services. Affirmative Action The Executive Director has been appointed Equal Employment Opportunity Officer and is responsible for planning and implementing the affirmative action policy as well as for the day-to-day monitoring of affirmative action related decisions and activities.All personnel who are responsible for hiring and promoting employees and for the development and implementation of programs or activities are charged to support this policy. CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION POLICY I do hereby certify that the above stated Diversity and Inclusion Policy of Smart Share Housing Solutions, Inc.was adopted by the Smart Share Housing Solutions,Inc.board of directors on November 12,2020 and constitutes a complete copy of the Diversity and Inclusion policy of the corporation. Tim Waag,Secretary ________Tim Wag_______________ Signature Date:11/12/20 Furthering its general commitment to furthering Diversity,Equity and Inclusion,Smart Share Housing will support marginalized lower income persons in the City of San Luis Obpisp with this Community Housing program,particularly marginalized lower income single senior women,through support with safe,affordable,community connected housing and services to minimize the deleterious effects of isolation.