Broward County Calls on Landlords to Help End Homelessness

Broward Commissioner Beam Furr calls on landlords to participate in program to assist homeless veterans and families

Broward County is looking for landlords willing to rent residential units to pre-screened tenants in need of a home. The Landlord Recruitment Initiative is a new innovative program that seeks the help of property owners and landlords to end homelessness. The program guarantees landlords will be paid a fair and reasonable monthly rent, advanced security and deposit payments and clients who will be pre-screened and qualified. Families and veterans in need of housing will pre-qualify for the new program. "Landlords are in a powerful position to help us get people off the streets and into a home," said Broward Commissioner Beam Furr. "The County has earmarked $10.5 million to provide homelessness rental assistance. Landlords are guaranteed monthly rent payments and you'll have a team of people behind you, all focused on making this program work." Fifty landlords are needed to provide housing for fifty veterans and bring the veteran homelessness count in Broward County down to "functional zero," a term that means there is enough housing available for every homeless veteran. Eighty rental units would provide enough housing to get to functional zero for homeless families and an additional 200 homes would all but end chronic homelessness in the County. "All tenants will be assigned a case manager and a life coach. The ideal situation is to get people processed and in permanent housing in less than sixty days," said Michael Wright, Homeless Initiative Partnership / Continuum of Care Administrator. Rent is guaranteed by local government, state and federally funded programs and is implemented locally through Broward Partnership for the Homeless, Broward Outreach Center and members of the Broward County Homeless Initiative Partnership. Landlords wanting to participate in the program can contact Broward Outreach Center Housing Navigator Rachel Edwards and redwards@caringplace.org or Broward Partnerships Housing Navigator Chantel Pierre at cpierre@bphi.org In 2005, the Broward County Commission and Human Services Department, as the lead agency of the Continuum of Care Board, created a 10-year plan to end homelessness in our community. In 2013, the plan, "A Way Home: Broward County's Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness" was updated to provide a framework for ending homelessness and specific timelines for ending veteran homelessness (by 2016) and chronic homelessness (by 2017). A partnership of local governments and community organizations, known as the Homeless Continuum of Care, was established in 1997. Broward County is on track to meet its 2016 and 2017 goals, but in spite of our community's best efforts, homelessness is still an unfortunate reality for more than 2,302 individuals and families, as identified in the January 2016 Broward County Homeless Initiative Partnership Point-In-Time Count of homeless persons. A new philosophy called "Housing First" is helping change the way communities address issues of homelessness. It aims to first place individuals and families experiencing homelessness in stable housing, then address other needs that help them achieve independence and self-sufficiency. This approach has proved successful in other states, such as New York, California, Arizona and Utah, and we should experience similar success in Broward County. About Homeless Initiative Partnership  The Homeless Initiative Partnership (HIP), a section within the Community Partnerships Division of the Broward County Human Services Department, plans and coordinates services for homeless persons, and serves as liaison to the Homeless Initiative Partnership Advisory Board, which acts as agent for the Board of County Commissioners in the development and implementation of homeless assistance programs. HIP is also the lead agency for the County's Homeless Continuum of Care, a network of organizations, advocates, residents and businesses that plan programs to help alleviate homeless in Broward County. The goal is to end veteran homelessness by March 2016, chronic homelessness by 2017, and family and youth homelessness by 2020. For more information, call 954-357-6101 or visit Homeless Services.