The City of Pensacola is pleased to announce that 100% of the Emergency Housing Vouchers the city received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development targeted for homeless households have been allocated to eligible families, providing an opportunity for these families to find housing and other much-needed housing assistance.
Last year, the City of Pensacola Housing Department received an allocation of 35 Emergency Housing Vouchers from the U.S. Department of HUD targeted for homeless households. These tenant-based vouchers were designed to assist households who are homeless or at risk of homelessness or fleeing domestic or other kinds of violence.
The City of Pensacola Housing Department partnered with Opening Doors Northwest Florida, Inc. to accept referrals of eligible clients and to provide services for program implementation. As of today, 100% of these allocated vouchers are assigned to eligible families, with the majority successfully housed and a few still seeking rental units.
As part of this program, additional funding was provided to help remove barriers to finding and leasing a rental unit, such as security and utility deposits, application fees, set up of basic household items, and transportation. Through the case management received under this program, an additional five households were able to secure housing through other means.
The City of Pensacola Housing Department also jointly administers the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing, or HUD-VASH, program with the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System. This program provides 203 housing choice vouchers with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This special voucher program is targeted to homeless veterans and their families eligible for VA medical care with a need for case management. Since the inception of this local partnership in 2009, more than 516 veteran households have been assisted with their housing and supportive service needs. Homeless veterans seeking assistance in Escambia County under the HUD-VASH program may contact the Pensacola VA Clinic at 850-912-2206.
The city values its partnerships with these agencies to help house vulnerable households in Escambia County. Vouchers provided under these programs provide a housing subsidy to a private landlord on a program participant’s behalf which assists with paying a portion of the rent. Landlords interested in listing their properties to these and other housing choice voucher clients may visit the City of Pensacola website for more information.