Illinois Jobs Now! Investment to Create More Supportive Housing Across State

CHICAGO – The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) today announced $35 million in Illinois Jobs Now! capital funding and other resources is now available to developers creating community-based supportive housing across the state. This third round of the state’s Permanent Supportive Housing Development Program continues Governor Pat Quinn’s commitment to improving the quality of life for people with disabilities or special needs by increasing opportunities that allow them to live independently in the community of their choice, and creating quality jobs.

“Governor Quinn has dedicated significant resources to meet the need for community-based housing opportunities for people with special needs,” IHDA Executive Director Mary R. Kenney said. “With this critical resource, we can continue to remove obstacles to safe and affordable housing for our most vulnerable residents. The development of supportive housing also creates jobs in our communities.”

Permanent supportive housing serves extremely low-income people with disabilities, and people who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness. Administered by IHDA, the Permanent Supportive Housing Development Program has provided state capital funding for affordable and supportive housing units since 2011. This new wave of funding will create new rental homes and jobs statewide. In the first two rounds, approximately 300 units of supportive housing were created.

Under Governor Quinn, Illinois is moving away from an overreliance on outdated institutions and moving toward a community-based care model. Since 2009, approximately 1,800 community-based supportive housing units have been financed across Illinois. In 2012, 20 percent of the multifamily units, or one in five, that IHDA financed were supportive housing.

The program supports the state’s efforts to create a range of supportive housing opportunities that best fit the needs of people with disabilities. Developments can include acquisition, new construction, redevelopment or rehabilitation of vacant units, or adaptive reuse of non-residential properties. The State Referral Network, a statewide housing coordination service, helps connect residents to these units. To qualify, potential tenants of these units must be extremely low income, which is defined as making up to 30 percent of the median income for the area – or $15,480 in the Chicago area or $14,130 in Springfield for a one-person household.

Applications for developers of supportive housing are currently available at www.ihda.org under the Multifamily Developer tab. The deadline to apply is Sept. 9.