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Finance committee backs $100,000 senior housing bridge pilot funded by state earmark
Summary
The finance committee recommended approval of a $100,000 state earmark to pilot short-term rental assistance for vulnerable seniors, a program the Office of Housing Stability plans to run for six months and to use as a model for future state funding.
The finance committee of the SunRail City Council on Jan. 21 recommended approval of a $100,000 grant from the state executive office to the city’s Office of Housing Stability to pilot a senior housing bridge program.
The Office of Housing Stability presented the proposal as a short-term rental assistance program to keep vulnerable seniors, age 60 and older, in their homes while they wait for access to permanent affordable housing. "We have 6 months for the program," Director Schachter said. "Because we only got $100,000 instead of a lot more, we're going to loop this program into an existing contract and segregate money specifically for seniors."
The director told the committee the award is an earmark secured by a state senator after a broader statewide request for $40 million failed. Schachter said up to 15% of the grant may be used for administration and that the remainder would go to direct rental assistance; she named the administering nonprofit as CAS and said the program will likely serve about five to 10 people under the six‑month timeline. "Fifteen thousand of that up to that amount CAS could use for staffing and other things, and the other $85,000 would go directly to pay the rental expenses of the participants in the program," Schachter said.
Committee members questioned how participants would be identified and how the city would partner with local aging organizations. Schachter said the city is already meeting with Somerville Cambridge Elder Services and the Council on Aging and will form a small screening committee with those partners. She also said the pilot was folded into the city’s existing SA HTF contract to ensure continuity if the pilot is not refunded next year. "We've made a contractual commitment that even if we don't get refunded for this pilot, those funds will be prioritized from our regular flex SAHTF so that we can continue people in this program," she said.
Councilors pressed for follow-up reporting. Schachter said she could return with updates and that staff is meeting immediately to calculate per-person costs and wait-list positions.
The committee laid the item on the table to recommend approval; that recommendation was included in a set of items the committee approved by voice vote at the meeting’s close.
