Shelter Plus Care
What is Shelter Plus Care (SPC)?
Shelter Plus Care is a housing subsidy program of the County of Sacramento's Homeless Program, providing supportive housing for homeless disabled individuals and families.
SPC opened in September of 1995. It is run by the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance and funded by HUD. SPC requires case management of all SPC participants.
Shelter Plus Care is designed to bridge the gap between disabled homeless persons and independent living with
- Motivated individuals and families
- Housing subsidies for disabled homeless persons
- Case management services for participants
- A cooperative effort between:
- Landlords
- Government
- Community Service Organizations
- Participants
- For more information call
- 916.874.4304
Who is eligible for SPC?
To be eligible for the Shelter Plus Care (SPC) program, a person must be both homeless and disabled. In the case of a homeless household, at least one adult member must be considered disabled, as described below. Applications that propose serving other populations will not be considered for SPC.
Homelessness
The SPC program specifically targets homeless persons who:
- Are sleeping in places not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks, and abandoned or condemned buildings; or are sleeping in emergency shelters.
- This may include persons who ordinarily sleep in one of the above places, but are spending a short time (30 consecutive days or less) in a hospital or other institution.
- Are graduating from transitional housing specifically for homeless persons.
A person is homeless if, without the HUD assistance, they would have to spend the night in a shelter or in a place not meant for human habitation.
The intent of this policy is to help disabled persons who lack shelter. HUD administer other programs to serve person who are poorly housed or need supportive housing but are not homeless, such as Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments, public housing, HOME, Community Development Block Grants, and Supportive Housing for Persons With Disabilities. Contact your HUD field office for more information about those programs.
Disabilities
Persons with disabilities are those who have a disability that:
- Is expected to be of long-continued duration;
- Substantially impedes his or her ability to live independently; and
- Is of such a nature that the disability could be improved by more suitable housing conditions.
There are several disabilities specifically targeted by the SPC program. These targeted disabilities are:
- Serious mental illness,
- Chronic alcohol and/or drug abuse, and
- AIDS or related diseases
What are the benefits to the landlords?
The benefits of the Shelter plus Care program include:
- Guarantees monthly payment of housing subsidy.
- A trained and experienced staff person supports the participant through home visits.
- Case managers work with the participants and the landlords to ensure a stable tenancy.
- Guarantees up to one-month contract rent if the unit is damaged.