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Alameda Countywide Homeless and Special Needs Housing Plan 49 Affordable Housing in Alameda County Many local and regional organizations develop affordable housing in Alameda County; in 2005, there are nearly 20,000 units of subsidized housing. Public housing authorities own and operate about 20 percent of these units, while nonprofit and private organizations own and operate the rest. Although these units are a vital resource for low-income individuals and families, many of them are still not affordable to people who are homeless, mentally ill, or living with HIV/AIDS. Rents for affordable housing developed by nonprofits are typically set with a formula to be affordable to renters at certain income levels. Nonprofit housing is usually affordable to people earning 30 to 60 percent of median. Although new developments include more units affordable at or below 30 percent of median, the majority of existing housing is affordable at 50 percent to 65 percent ofthe median income. Because the monthly cost of operating housing typically costs more per unit per month than an extremely low-income person can afford to pay, and there are few subsidies that can make up the difference, most nonprofits are unable to set rents that are affordable to people earning lower incomes. All types of affordable housing in the county are difficult to access because waiting lists tend to be very long, up to several years, because more people need and qualify for housing than there are units available. In contrast, public housing authorities can provide housing to extremely low-income people through the public housing and Section 8 programs, in which tenants pay rent based on their income. This housing is much more affordable for people with very low incomes, including people with disability income. The six housing authorities in Alameda County administer a combined total of nearly 21,000 Section 8 vouchers and 3,700 units of public housing.22 Because of the great need for the types of assistance that housing authorities provide, they typically have very low vacancy rates and lengthy, or closed, waiting lists. Recent changes in the regulations that guide public housing authorities and current budget priorities at the national level are encouraging housing authorities to link work requirements to housing assistance and seek increased revenue through serving households with higher income levels. Both of these directions will make it difficult for this plan's target populations to access this housing unless the housing authorities take specific actions to establish local priorities. Housing Dedicated for the Plan's Three Primary Populations Alameda County contains emergency, transitional, and permanent housing for people who are homeless, living with HIV I AIDS, and/or mentally ill. Unlike affordable housing in general, housing that is dedicated to one of these populations typically connects with services. The service connection may range from a service coordinator, who can make referrals to services off-site, up to more intensive on~site services. One particular type of housing that is particularly important to the mental health system is Board and Care homes, or Adult Residential Care Facilities (ARFs). These provide 24-hour non-medical care, including assistance with daily living activities and dispensing medications, for adults with 22 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Public and Indian Housing (PIH) Information Center, "Housing Authority Profiles." Available online: https://pic.hud.gov/pic/haprofileslhaprofilelist.asp (Accessed: May 11, 2005).