Federal housing and health officials have awarded $12 million to the California Housing Financing Agency to offer rental assistance to 335
low-income persons with disabilities.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regional administrator Ophelia Basgal said the funding from her agency and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will give disabled low-income people "stable housing and needed supportive services to help them find their place
within the fabric of their community."

Speaking at a news conference outside the state building in
Oakland, where Gov. Jerry Brown and others were speaking at a summit on the
future of housing in California, Basgal said that many low-income residents
who have disabilities are in need of help because they are transitioning out
of institutional settings or at strong risk of homelessness.

The funds awarded to California Tuesday are part of a total of $98
million the two federal agencies are awarding to 13 state housing agencies
for rental assistance to low-income persons with disabilities.

Basgal said HUD's support of the state agencies is made possible
through the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Demonstration Program,
which she said enables persons with disabilities who earn less than 30
percent of median income to live in integrated mainstream settings.

She said the state housing agencies are working closely with their
state Medicaid and health and human service counterparts to identify, refer,
and conduct outreach to persons with disabilities who require long-term
services and supports to live independently.

Basgal said the HUD funding complements California's effort to use
new and creative ways to end homelessness in the state, which will focus on
disabled people who need housing as well as supportive services that allow
them to live as independently as possible.

Claudia Cappio, the executive director of the California Housing
Finance Agency, said, "We appreciate the confidence that HUD has shown to
us."

She said, "We're excited about bringing holistic services
together" to help low-income persons with disabilities.

Cappio said, "By integrating our housing and health resources, we
apply more funding to the significant needs of the disabled in our state and
we can help end the cycle of homelessness that has impacted too many people."

Basgal said the funding announcement reinforces the guiding
principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act and a 1999 Supreme Court
ruling which requires state and local governments to provide services to
individuals with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to
their needs.

— Bay City News Service

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