SPHA’s Programs Are Housing the Homeless

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – On Tuesday, September 7, representatives from the St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA) will celebrate the grand opening of the 80-unit, handicap-accessible Pinellas Hope II housing project with Catholic Charities and other community organizations. SPHA is one of the partners in the project, supplying approximately $280,000 per year of on-going funding to Catholic Charities through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Project-Based Voucher program.

The funding is provided to Catholic Charities by SPHA in the form of 40 project-based housing vouchers, which will be made available to qualified applicants living at Pinellas Hope II. The goal of the HUD Project-Based Voucher program is to expand the availability of higher quality affordable housing units to the elderly, disabled individuals and homeless military veterans.

SPHA Chief Executive Officer Darrell Irions said, “We are proud to be community partners in the fight against homelessness. Through these project-based vouchers, SPHA is able to provide meaningful and sustainable funding for Pinellas Hope II, which will help get people off of the streets and allow them to regain their lives. We also have other programs in place specifically to help homeless veterans, as it is unconscionable that anyone who has honorably served our country, and wants a roof over his or her head, is without a place to call home.”

The Pinellas Hope II vouchers are just one of the ways that SPHA is helping to combat homelessness. SPHA also administers a HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program in coordination with the Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The HUD-VASH vouchers allow veterans to rent private sector housing in St. Petersburg, contingent on their motivation to continue treatment and improve their individual circumstances.

SPHA began the HUD-VASH program in 2009 after receiving 70 vouchers from HUD. Because of the success of the program and the community’s support for it, SPHA was awarded an additional 125 HUD-VASH vouchers this year, bringing the total number of available vouchers available under this program to house homeless veterans to 195. The new HUD-VASH vouchers are equivalent to approximately $541,000.00 of additional funding over a 12-month period.

Dr. Arnett Smith, chairman of the SPHA Board of Commissioners, said, “The expansion of SPHA’s HUD-VASH program is a direct result of the great working partnership between SPHA, HUD, Veteran’s Affairs, and the VA Medical Center in identifying and assisting homeless veterans. Thanks to the hard work of our staff, SPHA now will be able to put roofs over the heads of almost 200 veterans in need.”

SPHA also has a veteran’s preference in place for both its public housing and Housing Choice Voucher/Section 8 programs.

About St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA):

The St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA) is a public body corporate that has a 70+ year history of developing and administering affordable housing programs in the city of St. Petersburg. Consistently scored as a “High Performer” on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) assessments, SPHA provides housing assistance to more than 3,400 families residing in St. Petersburg. The authority has received national awards and recognition for its innovative programs, including the Economies of Scale program, the Jordan Park HOPE VI redevelopment program, the Section 3 program and the Fraud Recovery program. More information about the authority’s programs and services can be found at www.stpeteha.org.