Support services would be provided to each client based on an action plan that is developed with the case manager.

Each tenant would initially be required to:

• Attend/participate in weekly case management meetings
• Attend rotating nightly sessions of budgeting, life skills and parenting classes.
• Attend DV psycho-educational model program
• Attend community meetings
• Attend counseling

Other services to be provided on an optional basis:

• Job skills
• Self-defense
• Toastmasters
• Counseling
• Car repair
• Case management
• Legal services
• Information and Referral
• Housing relocation assistance
• Health
• Financial assistance
• Substance abuse services
• Services for children

Development And Financing

Preliminary discussions with Catholic Charities' Director of Housing Development and Services, Chris Block, indicate that the general scheme of building 24 unit co-housing complexes on four different sites can be done. Each site would need 1-2 acres of land. The estimated cost is $2.5-4 million per site or an estimated total of $10-16 million. This estimate includes the cost of the land. Any special deal on the land would bring the overall cost down. Financing would be structured in such a way as to render the development debt-free. This would allow the rents to stay low (approximately $350.00 per month) and provide cash flow for ongoing property management and maintenance. It is estimated that each development would take approximately 1 ½ years to complete; from site selection, arrangement of financing, to actual construction.

Potential sources of financing include:

• City of San Jose Redevelopment Agency
• City of San Jose Housing Department
• Other City Redevelopment Agencies
• County Community Development Block Grant
• HOME Funds
• State Housing Trust Fund
• County Housing Trust Fund
• State Tax Credit Program
• Cities' Community Development Block Grant
• Private Capital Campaign

The ideal siting of these co-housing complexes would be scattered throughout the county. Much will depend on what sites are available and what can actually be obtained. It is recommended that part of the next phase of this project include the establishment of a site committee to seek out appropriate sites.

The next phase of this project should also include seeking out potential partners to build the co-housing development. This kind of housing development would best be handled by a non-profit housing developer. Non-profit housing developers to consider are:

• Catholic Charities
• South County Housing
• First Community Housing
• Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition
• Ecumenical Association for Housing
• Eden Housing
• Palo Alto Housing Corporation
• Bridge Housing Corporation
• San Jose Grail Development Corporation
• Housing Authority of Santa Clara County

It would be most prudent to pursue a partnership with the non-profit developer that has already had success with the co-housing model. That developer could help identify other appropriate partners in order to build the most successful project.

Design:

Ideally, each site would have seven buildings. Six, with four bedrooms each, would house the clients. A seventh building would serve as the community room, office and residence for the property manager. Each building would be two stories. There should be lots of play space for children and a small community garden. Laundry facilities should also be included, probably detached from the residential units.

In the next phases of this project, the actual housing design will be developed by a working group, including the developer, with input from victims/survivors of domestic violence, current residents of the co-housing model, representatives from domestic violence agencies, other service providers and other involved community members. The developer will also draw on the expertise of staff and other experts to create the final project design. These drawings are meant to convey the general design concept that the Housing Task Force Committee considers workable. These are not intended to represent the final product.

First Floor

Second Floor

Ownership Structure:

The ownership structure of these developments will be driven by the financing options available. The lead in the project could be undertaken by one domestic violence agency or by a collaborative entity formed by the agencies working together. The lead agency should partner with a housing developer to build the project. The developer could agree to purchase the land and construct the housing for the benefit of the population that the lead agency wants to serve. The developer could retain ownership of the property and retain responsibility for the management of the property. Depending on the relationship with the developer, it might be advisable to explore some sort of joint governance structure such as a joint board of directors.

Currently, none of the domestic violence agencies own and/or manage permanent housing. However, the planning for the building, future ownership and management of the co-housing developments should be done in such a way that all ownership and management possibilities could be explored. In the future, there may be some benefit to the agencies, and the clients they serve, to owning and managing the properties.

Property Management:

Property and program management should be separate functions done with a team approach. Property management will be the function of the owner or an entity that the owner has retained for that purpose. The property manager will be on-site and primarily responsible for general maintenance, rent collection and security issues. The property manager should also collaborate with the Services Coordinator and the Resident Management Committee. Property management will also include processing tenant applications, managing finances, resolving tenant issues with regard to physical management of property and maintaining resident files. The costs of property management will be covered by rents collected.

Program Management:

WATCH may be the logical entity to maintain responsibility for program management and service coordination. This depends on the outcome of the merger discussion between Support Network for Battered Women and WATCH. A case manager should be located at or available to each co-housing site. The case manager should be involved in an intensive application process to identify suitable clients to gain entry to this housing. The case manager would work with the client on establishing goals and a plan of action to obtain self-sufficiency. It is important to the client's success that she define what self-sufficiency means to her and establish her own plan of action with support and guidance from the case manager. The case manager would provide the client with information on how to access the types of services she may utilize to meet her goals.

Program management would include the provision of on-site services such as job-training and child care. It would include the coordination of other services needed by the client such as legal advocacy, financial assistance, counseling, transportation, health care, programs for children, self-defense, life skills training, budgeting and others.

It is recommended that each resident be encouraged to set up her own savings account and commit to saving a certain amount each month. Domestic violence agencies could work together to create Individual Development Accounts (IDA). In this type of account a client's savings dollar is matched in some amount by a financial institution(s) to increase their savings. A successful local program to imitate or participate in is the Bay Area IDA Collaborative.

Team Approach to Housing and Program Management:

It is recommended that the service-enriched housing approach be utilized in this model. This "service-enriched" housing approach is described as follows:

"With mechanisms that provide for significant resident involvement in the issues that affect them, residents who participate in developing services, programs, and recreational and social activities are most often, and particularly, in the early stages, assisted by management or a services coordinator. In service-enriched housing, residents, management and service providers work together as a team. Ideally, as residents participate in developing the services program, a sense of empowerment begins to take hold. Feelings of ownership are developed as the culture of a project begins to take on the character and personalities of its residents.

Because residents are allowed some control over their environment, and participation in services is not mandatory, human dignity and independence are preserved-or are perhaps allowed to develop for the first time."

This approach is especially appropriate for victims/survivors of domestic violence because it allows for sharing power rather than surrendering it to another entity. In this way, the program complements and supports the client's recovery process.

The primary functions of case management would be:

• assessment
• planning
• linking
• monitoring
• advocacy

The characteristics of case management for service-enriched housing are:

• assessment of a resident's health, welfare, education, employment, and, if applicable, children's needs.
• determination of individual goals;
• full participation of the resident in the process;
• development of an individualized action plan to help the resident meet her needs, solve problems, or achieve goals;
• provision of support in-house or referral to community resources and services to achieve objectives in the action plan;
• ongoing interaction with the resident and outside resources in the coordination of action plan activities;
• periodic reevaluation of the residents' needs and goals, and modification of action plan to respond to the current situation;
• advocacy to help the resident obtain services or benefits to which she is entitled;
• intervention during a crisis to prevent a problem from escalating;
• empowerment of the resident by helping her improve coping skills and increase knowledge of community resources and how to use them;
• follow-up to ensure that the resident continues to progress toward meeting needs, solving problems, or achieving goals that she has identified.

The ideal "Team Approach" in Service Enriched Housing looks like this:

This team approach is a well-designed collaboration between the entities named above. It is part of the services coordination and should be funded as part of the overall program. In addition to the case management services already discussed, the services coordinator is responsible for developing and supporting resident self-governance. The service coordinator organizes and supports the Resident Management Committee. The on-site property manager is also involved in this process.

The Resident Management Committee is a committee of residents. This committee presents concerns to the management and participates in management decisions relating to those concerns. This committee works as a team with the property manager and services coordinator to resolve issues that may arise with tenants or residents in the neighborhood. This committee also works with the services coordinator in developing services, programs and activities.

This collaboration is established through a process of establishing its purpose, vision and shared goals. A decision-making structure is instituted with agreed upon ground rules. A clear system of communication is set up. The participants are clearly identified. Resources are provided so that this collaboration can flourish.

VII.  Improving Housing Options for Victims / Survivors of Domestic Violence

The outcome of Developing the Path is to add 96 units of permanent, affordable housing with transitional support services to the current continuum of care in Santa Clara County. There is more that should be done to enhance housing opportunities for victims / survivors of domestic violence. Here are some recommendations for improving housing opportunities for victims/survivors of domestic violence. Partnerships or collaborations with other agencies or entities should be explored to carry out these recommendations more effectively.

Intervention to Retain Housing: The Turnaway Survey in 1997 states: "Substantial legal aid needs to be accessible at little or no cost to enforce the necessary support for women and children to retain their homes." The needs assessment conducted in the first phase of this project ranked "Access and Protection in Own Home" as the highest need with respect to "Housing/Shelter Services Needed." A legal team should be developed, or current legal services enhanced, to address the specific objective of assisting clients with retaining their homes. A pool of funds should be developed to offer temporary rental assistance. The client could be connected with resources to obtain a roommate through agencies offering shared housing. All of the support services offered to clients in emergency, transitional and permanent housing should be made available to clients who want to keep their present housing and need some assistance to attain the self-sufficiency necessary to retain their home.

Coordinated Shelter Intake System: A coordinated intake system for the domestic violence agencies would allow easier accessibility to these services. For example, a client having gone through some preliminary intake with one agency, only to find they have no beds available, wouldn't have to start over with another agency. Also, a coordinated intake system could include information on access to other shelter beds and safe homes in the county and assist the client in accessing this housing if all of the domestic violence agency shelter beds are full. Each agency could continue to operate its own shelter(s), but a coordinated intake system could free up resources to enhance services now offered to clients. This system should be designed to be computerized and accessible to all domestic violence agencies. This type of networking will enhance collection of data, coordination of services and overall case management. Also, the more the domestic violence agencies can coordinate services, the greater the benefit to the client and the community.

Enhancing Access to Existing Transitional Housing: There are 813 units of transitional housing in Santa Clara County. Many of these units are specifically for women and children. Estimates indicate that a substantial number of victims/survivors of domestic violence are presently in transitional housing. However, a more concerted effort to develop relationships with local transitional housing providers should lead to easier access to transitional housing through some form of coordinated referral system. Also, services developed by the domestic violence agencies specifically for their clients should be offered to enhance current services being offered at transitional housing sites.

Housing Assistance: Survivors/victims of domestic violence are leaving abusive partners who were also a financial resource. The loss of this resource puts most victims/survivors of domestic violence in need of affordable housing. Shelters should offer a more enhanced means of assisting clients with finding housing. A housing coordination system should be developed to access vacancy information on affordable housing. Relationships should be fostered and maintained with property managers to access vacancy information. This information could be maintained in a computerized database and made available to clients in search of housing. This type of assistance should also involve temporary rental assistance, information on other community resources to help retain housing, and assistance with preparing appropriate applications for housing.

Rental Assistance Fund: A fund should be developed to offer rental assistance in the form of rent payments and deposits for victims/survivors of domestic violence. This would allow clients to retain their current residence or move into permanent housing. An important component of this fund would be to require the client to pay back some or all of the amount received.

Enhancing Homeownership Opportunities: Homeownership is a desirable step toward self-sufficiency. A homeownership opportunity referral system should be developed where clients can be educated about home ownership opportunities and what they need to do to qualify. There are various Below-Market Rate housing programs, First-Time Homebuyer programs and down payment assistance programs, on a local, state and national level. This information could be accessed, compiled and disseminated to clients. There are programs like Family Self-Sufficiency, run by the Housing Authority of Santa Clara, to which a client could be referred. Assisting in the purchase of mobile homes may be an option of home ownership for many clients. In North San Diego County the EYE program obtained money from the redevelopment agency to set up a mobile home purchase program. This kind of program could be explored in Santa Clara County.

Housing Option Funding: Financial resources are essential to improving housing options for survivors/victims of domestic violence. Housing development financing could be enhanced by a pool of funds. In Seattle, Washington, a group called HomeSight has devised a way to create more development capital through negotiations with various lenders by utilizing a combination of private bank financing and foundation loans. It is structured as a revolving loan package. HomeSight creates development funding, builds affordable housing utilizing that funding, and sells the affordable homes to their clients with homebuyer assistance. The cost of housing in Santa Clara County is higher than in Seattle, but the financial creativity of this program could be emulated to develop more funds to create permanent, affordable homes for victims/survivors of domestic violence.

Special Needs Housing: There are many victims/survivors of domestic violence who suffer from substance abuse or mental health problems. Housing could be built or acquired to serve these special populations. Recovery programs specifically designed for victims/survivors of domestic violence could be administered on site. Any other support services needed off-site could be accessed by the client as part of the service coordination of the program.

VIII. Building the Team: Next Steps

The result of Developing the Path is the plan to create 96 units of permanent, affordable housing with transitional support services for victims/survivors of domestic violence. This will be done utilizing the co-housing model building 24 unit complexes in four different locations throughout Santa Clara County. In order to move forward on this project, a team needs to be established to do the work of Building the Dream.

A collaboration needs to be formed to carry out the next phase of this project. The work of this collaboration could entail the following:

• Identify participants in collaboration
• Invite participation
• Meet separately with invitees to discuss expectations, concerns
• Hold initial meetings to:
  • Review information on affordable housing and continuum of care regarding housing for domestic violence survivors and housing need
  • Establish ground rules
  • Discuss purpose and pros and cons of collaboration
  • Establish timeline
  • Establish information-sharing process
  • Establish decision-making process
  • Disclose self-interests
  • Develop vision
  • Define focus
  • Identify desired outcomes
  • Develop action plan for next steps
• Next steps include:
  • Document progress
  • Letters of commitment
  • Development of authority structure
• Hold next phase of meetings to:
  • Identify and clarify the issues
  • Design conflict resolution process
  • Develop organizational structure
  • Determine roles
  • Identify resource / staffing needs
  • Secure resources / staffing
  • Create decision-making protocol
  • Design communications plan
  • Review vision and desired outcomes
  • Create action plan
  • Define accountability standards
  • Set up systems for implementation of action plan(s)
  • Develop joint agreements
• Design evaluation plan to monitor results
• Document collaborative process and collaborative structure