Housing Access Program Volunteer Guide Thank you so much for choosing to volunteer with the Housing Access Program! As a HAP volunteer, you will meet many clients and will get plenty of opportunities for face-to-face and one-on-one interactions with them. The goal of the Housing Access Program is to assist participants in identifying and/or completing housing applications to increase the likelihood that they secure subsidized housing. Your role as a HAP volunteer will be to assist the participants in navigating the process in one of several ways:  Assist them in reading through the list of buildings and help them select where they would like to apply.  Assist them in completing application paperwork.  Provide some support to them while they complete housing applications here. There are also other, less glamorous tasks that we may ask you to do, such as copying, collating, and stuffing folders; scanning documents into our computerized client management system; and making phone calls, among others. You will also be given a Bread for the City name tag that identifies you as a volunteer that you are encouraged to wear while you are volunteering. What is Subsidized Housing? Subsidized housing is permanent housing in an apartment building where the tenant pays 30% of their income towards rent, and the government subsidizes the rest. HAP deals specifically with housing that is subsidized through Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The tenant and the apartment building enter into a lease agreement together; the tenant pays his or her portion to the building, and HUD also pays a portion to the building. Bread for the City does not pay for or subsidize any portion of the rent. HUD contracts with private buildings to provide this subsidy. There are about 100 buildings with this subsidy, but the demand continues to be higher than the supply. These 100 buildings are all full to capacity and each of the buildings maintains a waiting list. Some wait lists are so long that the building is not accepting any new applications. Time spent on a wait list can range from a few months to a number of years. So, while it seems that HAP deals with subsidized housing, we actually deal with wait lists for subsidized housing. What Do We Do About This? We monitor those 100 buildings and keep track of whether or not their wait lists are open, as well as their eligibility criteria, their application process, etc. During our weekly Housing Clinics, we disseminate this information to the participants to aid them in their housing search. We then offer our assistance to help our participants complete and submit some of those applications to the wait lists. Updated: 1/10/2017

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Who Are Our Clients/Participants? At a most basic level, our clients are low-income DC residents in search of affordable housing. Some of them may be living somewhere where the rent is too high, or they may be “doubling up” and staying with friends or family. Some of them may be homeless and living in shelters, on the street, or from place to place. Some of our clients are employed and some have disabling conditions and receive disability benefits. Some of our clients are former or current substance users. And some of our clients have a diagnosed mental illness (and some of those clients are connected with mental health treatment, as well). Some of our clients have limited literacy skills or limited English proficiency. Some of our clients have strong supports in the form of family, friends, or even caseworkers from other agencies. Some, unfortunately, do not feel they have many people helping them through their struggles. The most important thing to remember when working with our clients is that many of them who come in for help are under tremendous amounts of pressure and stress to secure a roof over their heads that is both safe and affordable. The potential for frustration and feelings of hopelessness are high, since they are beginning a long journey. As staff and volunteers in HAP, we walk a fine line between being realistic yet helping someone to maintain a positive outlook. Keep in mind that while we sincerely hope that our participants successfully secure subsidized housing, our main goal in working with them is to complete their applications and get this process started for them. The Sad Realities of Housing in DC  There is no emergency housing other than a shelter. The shelters are often full, especially the family shelters.  There is no way that Bread or any other agency can move someone’s name up on a wait list.  Completing your housing applications at Bread does not give your application an unfair advantage when the apartment building receives it.  Bread for the City cannot place people in housing or influence wait list placement. The Silver Lining  Applications completed at Bread do have a slight advantage because they are reviewed and checked over by our staff for accuracy and completion before being submitted.  HAP participants have the opportunity to sign up for text and email alerts to be notified when a building opens its wait list.  Bread is working to effect change and make this process better for DC residents.  Our participants provide us with a strong group who can advocate for change in this system, as well.

Updated: 1/10/2017

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The Nitty Gritty for the NW Center Wednesday Afternoon Housing Clinic in NW (1:00 pm): The Housing Clinic is the first step in the HAP process. This session consists of a presentation about housing in DC and specifically focuses on subsidized housing. Clients are given a folder of information to complement the information in the presentation. The Clinic starts at 1:00 pm every Wednesday and runs for about 60 minutes. Clients can sign up in advance or can walk in same day (the list closes at 12:45). The only requirement to participate is that the client has had a Bread for the City general intake. Participants do not need to attend the information session more than once (after you attend a Wednesday session, you are given appointments for any further help or you can come to the Open Hours). Here’s the breakdown of a Wednesday Clinic and the roles that a volunteer may play: Before the session starts: Place a green folder at each chair. Calling clients from the waiting room: You will be given the list of people who have signed up. Call each client from the lobby and, when they identify themselves, hand them a sign in sheet and direct them to the conference room. Clients should walk into the conference room with their sheet in hand. In the room as clients are coming in: You will be stationed by the door to the room. Welcome people, hand out pens, and direct people to take a seat anywhere and ask them to begin filling out their sign-in sheet. Make sure that everyone has a folder; Answer questions related to the sign-in sheet; Collect completed sheets and give them to an identified staff person. During the presentation: A staff member will lead the PowerPoint presentation. You may be asked to go to a desk in the social services staff area and print housing lists from the Subsidized Housing Database (stepby-step guide available). These lists will be handed out at the end of the presentation. Or you may be asked to stay in the room to help monitor the room, hand out time-sensitive flyers, etc. After the Presentation: After the presentation, we will hand out the housing lists. Our goal is to make sure that everyone has their Housing List and that those who want to make an appointment to return and complete housing applications get an appointment.    

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Distribute the personalized Housing Lists. Assist clients with completing the worksheet (if they ask for help). Answer client questions about the housing list-- help explain the list to them. Schedule appointments and hand out appointment cards. o Applications are completed by appointment only. o Clients who have caseworkers through Department of Behavioral Health are NOT to be given appointments. We will follow up with their caseworker and schedule a time for the client and caseworker to come in together. Clients with outside caseworkers will be given a letter to give to their caseworker with this information. Remind clients to bring their green folder back with them to their appointment. Collect our pens back :)

Updated: 1/10/2017

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Wednesday Afternoon HAP Open Hours in NW (2:30-3:30 pm): Immediately following the presentation in the Housing Clinic, we offer a walk-in time for current and previous HAP Participants (ie. anyone who has already come to a Wednesday information session). Participants can use this time to:  Get an updated list of apartment buildings that are accepting applications.  Make or change an appointment to complete housing applications.  Get help requesting their credit report online.  Ask us to review a completed application. During the Open Hours, a volunteer will:  Have each person fill out an Open Hours sign in sheet (pink sheet) so we can record their visit.  Print personalized lists of apartment buildings for clients (step-by-step guide available).  Assist clients in reading through their housing lists.  Schedule appointments for participants, if appropriate. o Please ensure that there are still applications left to complete before scheduling a client to come in. Bread for the City staff members can assist clients in requesting their credit reports online. In the event that a participant’s credit report cannot be obtained online, a volunteer may be asked to complete the mail-in request form with the participant and to make copies of appropriate identification documents.

Thursday Application Appointments in NW: This is a group setting where clients have the opportunity to complete housing applications. Staff and volunteers are on hand to facilitate, help complete applications, answer questions, review and then scan completed worksheets and applications into our electronic case management system. There will be mockups of the applications available to you to better assist clients in completing their applications. Clients can complete as many applications as they want to within the allotted time.

Some clients will be able to complete paperwork on their own, and some may need more individual attention. As a Thursday volunteer, you will: 1. Greet clients and invite them to take a seat at the table. Ask them to take out their green folder, specifically the Housing List and Housing Worksheet, and Chart 2. Go through the list of buildings with them, along with their chart, to see what they have already completed and what they can complete today. 3. Get blank applications, pens, scrap paper, etc. from the cart for them. 4. If they need help, you can sit and fill out the application with/for them, or let them do it independently and be on hand to answer questions. 5. Once they have completed an application, have a staff person review the application 6. Scan the client’s completed application(s) and worksheet into eCW (step-by-step guide available). 7. Make sure they have entered any new completed applications into their chart. 8. Schedule another appointment with the client, if necessary. Important Tip! When you are helping a participant select a building or getting an application for a participant, please be mindful of the following:  Make sure that he or she has not already completed the application. Updated: 1/10/2017

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Make sure that he or she qualifies for the building o Do they meet the age/disability requirement? Does everyone in the household have to meet the same requirements? o Do they need income in order to apply here?

Accommodating Caseworkers from Other Agencies: When a client shows up with his or her case manager, please let their case manager be the one to help with the application. While we are happy to share resources and answer questions, we don’t want to utilize our limited resources (ie. volunteers) on someone who has additional help already in the room with them.

The Nitty Gritty for the SE Center Monday Morning (10:30 am-12 pm) Housing Clinic in SE Monday Housing Clinic in SE is slightly different than the Housing Clinic in NW. On Mondays, participants receive the housing presentation from 10-11 and then engage in completing applications immediately following the presentation. The presentation starts at 10 am and last about an hour. Volunteers are not required to show up until midway through the presentation. The second hour is when the HAP applications appointments will start. This is a group setting with participants who received the HAP presentation that day and also returning participants who have scheduled an appointment to fill out more applications. Participants have the opportunity to work independently to complete housing applications and worksheets. Staff and volunteers are on hand to facilitate the clinic, answer questions, review and then copy completed worksheets/applications. There will be mock-ups of the applications available to you to better assist participants in completing their applications. Participants can complete as many applications as they want to within the workshop hour. If they run out of time, they can schedule an appointment to return the following week. As a SE Housing Clinic volunteer, you will: 1. Distribute personalized housing lists to HAP participants. 2. Assist participants with completing housing worksheets. 3. Go through the list of buildings with participants, along with their chart, to see what they have already completed. 4. Provide blank applications, pens, scrap paper, etc. to the participants. 5. Assist with answering questions and completing applications. 6. Once a participant has completed an application, have a staff person review the application. 7. Make copies/scan completed applications. 8. Make sure participants have entered any new completed applications into their chart. 9. Schedule another appointment with the participant, if necessary. Important Tip! When you are helping a participant select a building or getting an application for a participant, please be mindful of the following:  Make sure that he or she has not already completed the application.  Make sure that he or she qualifies for the building o Do they meet the age/disability requirement? Does everyone in the household have to meet the same requirements? o Do they need income in order to apply here?

Updated: 1/10/2017

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