Fayetteville updates homeless housing program, launches fundraising drive

Kelly Fulvart, community resources administrator for the City of Fayetteville's Community Resources Department, told the Community Development Advisory Panel that the city's HEART program is operating at capacity and is launching a community donation effort.

The HEART program provides tenant-based rental assistance, rent and utility deposits, and weekly wraparound case management for people who were homeless when they entered the program, Fulvart said. "Right now, we have 26 units, and we we're at capacity," she said. The program pays landlords directly and generally ensures a participant's rent share is never more than 30% of their income, she added.

The program also conducts landlord outreach to explain benefits and the case-management contact that landlords can use when tenancy problems arise. "One of our selling points... is landlords know who the person's case manager is," Fulvart said, citing examples in which staff intervened to resolve disputes over yard maintenance and other lease issues.

Fulvart said local Continuum of Care (CoC) grants pay rental assistance and some supportive services while Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds are used as the CoC match to pay case managers. Because the city uses CDBG funds as the required match and CDBG is restricted to the entitlement city, she said the program must house participants within Fayetteville city limits.

Fulvart described the CoC funding cycle as staggered and behind calendar years; some city CoC grants run Sept.-Aug. while another runs Jan.-Dec., which affects planning and reporting. She also noted a slight delay can occur for the program's first landlord payment because of city accounting procedures; after the first payment, landlords receive the month's funds before the first of the next month.

To build a small reserve for needs the grants do not cover, Fulvart said the city will begin actively soliciting donations this month under a campaign called "Hearts for HEARTH." The kickoff event is scheduled Saturday at Jam and Java from 1 to 4 p.m.; the city will accept online donations through a page linked from the city website and will distribute information about the fund and the program at the event.

Fulvart described the case managers as integral to keeping tenants housed and said the program coordinates with local partners including law enforcement response teams and other nonprofits when participants need additional services. She said the program serves individuals, couples and some families and that two-person households may qualify if they identify as a single household at intake.

The account of services and the fundraising plan was presented as informational; no formal action was taken by the panel during the meeting.

The program and the new donation drive will be publicized through the city's quarterly newsletter and community presentations, Fulvart said. She asked panel members to help spread the word about available services.