$6.5 million project to provide permanent housing for 34 chronically homeless individuals who frequent expensive public systems of care in Miami-Dade.
Coalition Lift will inlcude University of South Florida-led research program aimed at studying the cost-effectiveness of supportive housing vs. the high-cost of homelessness.
MIAMI, FL – April 27, 2016 – Carrfour Supportive Housing, Florida’s largest nonprofit affordable housing developer, has partnered with Camillus House and Citrus Health Network to develop Coalition Lift, a new affordable housing community in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood. The $6.5 million rehabilitation project includes a comprehensive supportive housing program that will provide 34 newly-renovated units for extremely low-income, chronically homeless individuals who are high utilizers of expensive public systems such as shelters, jails, hospitals and treatment programs.
Funded by Florida Housing Finance Corporation, the pilot program will include a unique research component led by the University of South Florida – with support from the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, South Florida Behavioral Health and the Eleventh Judicial Criminal Mental Health Project – to examine the cost-effectiveness of housing high-needs residents. Expected results from the research will highlight the savings that permanent supportive housing provides to South Florida tax payers versus the high cost of homelessness.
Renovations to Coalition Lift’s existing units, located at 1255 NW 58th Street in Liberty City, are set to begin over the next month and be completed by December 2016. All of the development’s 34 units will be designated for individuals earning 33% or less of the area’s median income. For example, a single person would have to earn less than $14,250 annually to qualify, according to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
“Coalition Lift will showcase how permanent housing backed by supportive services is an effective solution for curbing homelessness in South Florida,” said Stephanie Berman, President and CEO of Carrfour Supportive Housing. “This project will serve as a model for other communities looking to address homelessness in a respectful and cost efficient way.”
Residents of Coalition Lift will have access to a wide array of community-based resources and personalized services designed to meet the needs of chronically homeless individuals who are frequent users of costly systems of care. The program will provide services including case management, mental health and substance abuse treatment, primary health care, transportation, employment and educational assistance, financial management training, and socialization activities aimed at helping residents transition back into the community and get their lives back on track.
Carrfour Supportive Housing will take the lead in developing and managing Coalition Lift, while Camillus House and Citrus Health Network will provide necessary supportive services, including primary care and behavioral health care, to the community’s residents.
Over the last twenty years, Carrfour has developed 17 housing communities across South Florida with over 1,300 units of permanent supportive housing provided for formerly homeless families and individuals with special needs, including those suffering from permanent physical disabilities, chronic mental illness and substance abuse.
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