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Competition For Housing Gives Birth
To The Homeward Bound Partnership
By U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development

When the housing vacancy rate in Burlington, VT, fell to below one percent, the Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) and the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) got together to form the Homeward Bound Partnership. Over the past four years the increasing competition for limited housing tripled shelter stays for homeless families and doubled the number for homeless individuals with disabilities. The Homeward Bound project, which is funded through a combination of public and private money, helps homeless individuals overcome the obstacles to finding rental housing and provides significant incentives for landlords to enter HUD’s Section 8 (subsidized) housing program.

A COTS survey uncovered a clear pattern of problems that plague homeless people seeking permanent housing. Lack of money for security deposits, slow responses in answering ads, poor credit histories, lack of references, and negative impressions on potential landlords all contributed to difficulties in obtaining rental housing.

The program’s staff analyze barriers to housing so they can work with homeless families and individuals to devise strategies for overcoming the obstacles hindering their attempts to find housing. Homeward Bound then counteracts these obstacles by providing intensive housing research and placement assistance, and they train the homeless to make the best possible impression on landlords.

Organizers work the other side of the street, too. They recruit landlords into Section 8 programs to expand available housing options. The incentive program for landlords includes financial assistance to cover the cost of heating inspections and repairs necessary to bring housing units into compliance with Section 8 criteria.

In only its first six months the Homeward Bound Partnership has found housing for 50 families and 19 mentally or physically disabled individuals. The Partnership has persuaded more than 30 landlords to take part in the Section 8 program, with five of these accepting their first voucher, and staff have ensured that all newly issued family unification vouchers were used.

As a consequence of the Homeward Bound Partnership efforts, the length of stay at local emergency shelters has been reduced dramatically and veterans, victims of domestic assault, the working poor, the mentally ill, and others are on their way out of homelessness.

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