BAHFA Awards $5 million to Help Napa County Seniors Avoid Homelessness

The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) is launching its first homelessness prevention program with an award of $5 million to Napa County to administer a pilot program focused on extremely low-income seniors.

The pilot will support rent-burdened Napa County seniors who are disabled and/or living on fixed incomes by subsidizing rent for up to 48 months while helping them secure other long-term housing. BAHFA hopes lessons learned from the pilot can be applied to similar programs across the Bay Area and for future BAHFA initiatives.

Seniors are the fastest growing population of people experiencing homelessness in California, a reflection of the high costs of living with shrinking incomes as people age.

Napa County’s Department of Housing and Homeless Services will supplement the $5 million in BAHFA funds with an additional $1.6 million from local funding sources and will use its robust network of social and homeless service agencies to provide participants with the support they need. The department expects the combined funds to help stabilize and provide rental assistance for 250 households over the next four years.

BAHFA selected Napa County through a competitive process based on the strength of the county’s consortium approach, depth of experience in serving older adults and people with disabilities, and the ability to contribute additional resources to the pilot.

"We are thrilled that Napa County has been selected to lead the BAHFA Rental Assistance Pilot Program," Napa County Department of Housing and Homeless Services director Jennifer Palmer said. "Preventing homelessness is vital for our community's well-being and we have made significant progress through collaboration with our core non-profit partner agencies."