Housing Workshop IDs Rent Help Hurdles

(Updated with response from city) Camila Guiza-Chavez asked a roomful of women — mostly refugees, many facing housing insecurity — if anyone had applied for the city’s new federally funded, pandemic-era housing assistance programs. 

“No,” was the unanimous reply. 

Then she asked if anyone in the room had even heard of these programs. She was met again with a resounding: ​“No.”

That call and negative response took place Sunday evening during a rental assistance-focused workshop hosted at Havenly, a nonprofit cafe and training space for refugee chefs at 25 Temple St. downtown.

Guiza-Chavez, who is Havenly’s co-executive director as well as a leader of the affordable housing advocacy group the Sisters in Diaspora Collective, pointed to these ​“no” responses as an example of how the city’s recently launched housing financial assistance is not yet widely known enough among those it’s trying to help — and even among those who helped fight for its creation. 

Roughly 30 people turned out for the Sunday workshop, which was held both in-person at the Temple Street cafe and online via Zoom.

Guiza-Chavez led the meeting, with occasional input from New Haven Legal Assistance Association housing attorney Amy Eppler-Epstein. Interpreters were in the audience to translate the information to Spanish, Farsi, and Arabic for the multi-lingual group of attendees.

Guiza-Chavez explained that the Sunday workshop had two main goals: to get the word out about eligibility requirements and application processes for various city-managed financial aid programs for renters and homebuyers; and to gather feedback for City Hall as to how to increase accessibility to the aid to ensure it reaches those most in need.

The workshop took place roughly a month and a half after the Elicker Administration launched $4 million in federally funded housing assistance efforts as part of a so-called ​“I’m Home Initiative.” (See more below for details on how those programs work, and click here and here to apply.)

“We are here to talk about this because our community really fought for this money. Many people who are in this room are part of a group called Sisters in Diaspora,” which is a cohort of women who have graduated from Havenly’s six-month fellowship program, Guiza-Chavez said.

“We [the Sisters in Diaspora] have been pushing the City of New Haven with articles in the news, going to City Hall meetings, talking to local politicians, and really pushing for the city to create these assistance funds to make housing a little easier for people. We want you all to know about this money because we had to fight for it,” Guiza-Chavez said.

The two housing assistance programs are run by the Livable City Initiative (LCI) out of City Hall and funded by federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars. 

The first provides up to $5,000 in security deposit assistance for low-income renters, while the second boosts the city’s existing downpayment assistance program for income-eligible homebuyers by up to $15,000 more per recipient. Both fall under the heading of the so-called ​“I’m Home Initiative,” which the alders dedicated a total of $13 million to in August.

The security deposit program covers security deposits worth up to two months’ rent, or a cap of $5,000, for renters who make no more than 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the New Haven/Meriden area. That translates to between $38,640 for a one-person household to $79,500 for a family of four.

The downpayment assistance program, meanwhile, already exists and currently provides up to $10,000 in the form of a 0 percent interest forgivable loan for first-time homebuyers looking for help with downpayment and closing costs on a one- to four-unit home. 

This latest expansion of that program means that first-time homebuyers who make less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level for the area will get an additional $15,000 in downpayment assistance. That’s on top of the $10,000 already provided through this program.

City employees, teachers, firefighters, and police officers are also eligible for an additional $2,500 in downpayment assistance through this program.

Click here to apply for the security deposit assistance program, and here to apply for the downpayment assistance program. 

City: $23,497 Disbursed For Security Deposits, $27,500 For Downpayments

In response to a request for comment for this article, LCI Executive Director Arlevia Samuel told the Independent by email how proud her office is of the I’m Home initiative, ​“which is providing up to $5,000 in security deposit assistance for renters and up to $27,500 in down payment and closing cost assistance for first-time homeowners, and we are eager for as many New Haven residents as possible to be able take advantage of these affordable housing programs.”

“While there is always more we can do,” she continued, ​“we strive to make the information about these programs as accessible as possible, which is why the City of New Haven’s website — including an overview of the I’M HOME programs — is translated into over forty languages and LCI staff contact information is listed for residents to connect with directly, request more information, and receive direct assistance in filling out the applications. LCI also has bilingual Spanish-speaking staff available for residents to speak and meet with as well.”

She recognized that ​“some may find the related paperwork to be onerous at times, given the city is drawing on federal funds, these requirements and documents are necessary for accounting and reporting purposes — and it’s also why LCI staff make themselves available to help guide residents through the process.”

And to help get the word out about the I’m Home initiatives and other such programs, Samuel said, LCI staff members ​“have been attending public meetings throughout the city and try to accommodate as many meeting requests as possible. We also appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with community and non-profit partners in helping the individuals they engage with and represent gain access to these important affordable housing programs and resources.”

Samuel and city spokesperson Lenny Speiller told the Independent that the city has received 43 applications to date since late September for the I’m Home security deposit assistance program.

She said that eight of those applications have been completed, and the city has sent out a total of $23,497 in such assistance. An additional 17 applicants have qualified and payments worth a total of $31,189 are pending final documentation. And, she added, eight other applicants do not qualify for the program because they do not meet the income requirements or live outside of New Haven, five applications are so-far incomplete, and five applications have been returned as the city awaits additional income info.

As for the I’m Home downpayment assistance program, the city has received one application so far since late September, and has disbursed a total of $27,500.

"It Shouldn't Be This Difficult"

Throughout Sunday’s meeting, several attendees asked questions about the specifics of these program.

Those included: How long will these programs stay open? Do applicants have to be U.S. citizens? Are there options to fill out the paperwork in a language other than English?

Guiza-Chavez and Eppler-Epstein covered the answers with what they could glean from the city’s website. Guiza-Chavez said she invited a representative from the city to attend the workshop, but no one attended because the workshop was held outside of normal weekday working hours.

After the informative portion of the meeting, members discussed ways to increase access to the programs. Guiza-Chavez said they would draft a letter to the city with suggestions as to how to ensure the money is reaching those who need it, starting with a campaign to get the word out, via buses, radio, television, social media, food pantries, and more.

While none of the attendees had yet to apply for the programs, Eppler-Epstein was able to offer some insights as to how to make the process easier from her work with legal aid.

Eppler-Epstein said the application — which is only offered in English — is long, complicated, and asks for many different documents from the tenant, going back several years in tax returns. 

It also requires significant effort on the landlord’s part, which she said could be a deterrence for landlords to rent to tenants using the program. 

She said that legal aid recently saw a case in which a landlord refused to sign rental assistance paperwork from the city, therefore disqualifying the tenant from receiving the aid for that location.

Further, the process of obtaining the money required that the apartment receive inspection from the city, which could delay housing security for people in desperate need. 

With so many people desperate for housing, Eppler-Epstein said, landlords will likely not wait for the lengthy process to receive this aid, but will instead look for another tenant who can pay up front. 

Eppler-Epstein said that another problem is that the city will not approve the security deposit aid application without a lease or draft of a lease, and yet many landlords will not create a lease without assurance that the tenant can pay the security deposit. 

“Now that the programs are here, it shouldn’t be this difficult for tenants to access the money,” Eppler-Epstein said.