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8 Alameda Countywide Homeless and Special Needs Housing Plan Take a look at.... Sustaining and expanding housing options Partial Rent Subsidy Programs InAlamedcrCounty: HOPWA Project Independence andBHCS 200/0 Program Partial rent subsidy programs are often operated as tenant-based rental assistance, like Section 8,but with a critical difference. While tenants with Section 8 pay a fixed 30 percent of their income for housing costs, with Section 8 making up the difference between that amount and the actual cost, partial relltsubsidy programs pay a fixed amount per month to help augment what the tenant can pay. Alameda County has had a partial rent subsidy program for people livingwithHIV/AIDS since 1996. Project Independence, which provides partial rent subsidies, support service coordination, and accessibility improvements to people living with HIV/AIDS who are at risk of homelessness, was recommended in the 1996 Alameda County Multi- Year AIDS Housing Plan. The program's funding, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) program, has subsequently been renewed twice, once in 1999 and again in 2002, each time fora three-year period. Rent subsidies ranging from $175 to $425 a month depending on income, household size, and unit size stabilize participants' housing situations. These subsidies are for use in permanent housing, andthere is no time limit for participation. Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services (BHCS) also operates a short-term partial renfsubsidy program referred to as "20% Rental Subsidies." This program is piloting the use> of rental subsidies to help people with mental illness move from homelessness to stable housing. It can provide 20 percent of monthly rent for consumers, up to a maximum of $160 permonth for up to two years. Initially, this program was funded with a roll-over of SAMHSA funds in FY 2004-2005.