RI Gets Nearly $7.5M from HUD to Assist People Living with Disabilities

WASHINGTON, DC - The Ocean State is getting a boost in federal funding to help subsidize rent for Rhode Islanders living with disabilities.

In an effort to ensure that Rhode Islanders with disabilities and special needs have access to affordable rental housing and supportive services, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo announced that RIHousing will get $7,450,000 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA) for Persons with Disabilities program.

Reed and Whitehouse helped create the PRA program through a 2010 law designed to prevent homelessness and expand rental assistance for people with disabilities. The funding for these grants comes from the FY 2023 THUD Appropriations law, which provided a total of $667 million for Section 811 mainstream vouchers.

RIHousing will administer the program through a partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS).

RIHousing, in coordination with BHDDH and EOHHS, will select properties for PRA assistance, identify individuals to integrate into mainstream housing, and provide community-based support services to those individuals. These funds will help move some of Rhode Island's most vulnerable residents from homelessness or institutional settings into an estimated 150 affordable homes.

"It is imperative that we increase and preserve affordable rental housing opportunities for Rhode Islanders. This is a smart investment that will help more Rhode Islanders with disabilities live independently in the community with dignity and security, while expanding affordable housing in our state," said Senator Reed, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees federal housing policy, and a member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees federal spending for HUD programs. Senator Reed has strongly supported funding for Section 811 Programs.

"Rhode Islanders are significantly overburdened by housing costs," said Senator Whitehouse. "This federal funding will allow more people with disabilities to find an affordable, comfortable place to live that meets their needs."

"Every Rhode Islander deserves a safe, affordable place to call home and the chance to live independently," said Congressman Magaziner. "This $7.5 million of federal funding will help Rhode Islanders facing homelessness and institutional housing to move into homes of their own. I am proud to work with the rest of our congressional delegation to help more people in our state find a roof over their head."

"This funding is about more than a roof over someone's head. It's about giving Rhode Islanders with disabilities the opportunity to live with greater independence, dignity, and security in our communities," said Congressman Gabe Amo. "I'm proud to work alongside our federal delegation to help bring this investment home and ensure every member of our community has the resources they need to thrive."

"RIHousing has been working with our state leaders to connect our most vulnerable Rhode Islanders to affordable housing and the services they need to live independent lives," said Carol Ventura, Executive Director of RIHousing. "This additional funding will help create an additional 150 housing opportunities-doubling the number of supportive housing units funded through the 811 program in Rhode Island. These apartments will help people with disabilities to live independently and affordably and to thrive within their communities. We are grateful for the continued federal investment in affordable housing and look forward to working to put these resources to work for Rhode Islanders."

PRA rental assistance funds are provided to state housing entities that have formed partnerships with state Medicaid and health and human services agencies that have developed methods for identifying, referring, and conducting outreach to a target population of extremely low-income persons with disabilities requiring long term services and supports. These operating funds will be used to set aside supportive units for this target population in affordable housing complexes whose capital costs are funded through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, HOME funds, or other sources.

To be eligible, at least one person in a household must be between the ages of 18 and 61 years old, disabled, and receiving or eligible to receive Medicaid and services and supports provided through the state. They also must have incomes at or below 30 percent of the average median income for the area where they're living.

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