Dover, Del. August 9, 2023 – The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) has awarded over $800,000 in Housing Outreach and Stability Services (HOSS) grants to five community partner organizations throughout the state.

The overarching goal of HOSS is to support individuals and families in maintaining their housing and achieving housing stability. HOSS does this by providing education on and connection to short- and long-term services as needed.

Each HOSS partner organization will have dedicated staff to provide community outreach, case management, and other wraparound supports-including referrals to legal aid, employment or education resources, and financial literacy and housing counseling-to eligible households experiencing housing instability.

The five HOSS organizations are:

The HOSS grants are funded through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA), which the U.S. Department of the Treasury distributed to Delaware in December 2020 and March 2021.

“Our agency frequently receives calls, emails, and letters from Delawareans facing housing instability,” said DSHA Director Eugene Young, Jr. “We’re a state of neighbors, and help is out there for those in need. DSHA is proud to partner with these five organizations and help make the essential connections and referrals to services.”

To receive services from a HOSS organization, the individual and/or family must meet the following requirements:

• One or more individuals qualified for unemployment OR experienced a reduction in income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due directly or indirectly to the pandemic; AND
• Risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability, which may include: past due utility or rent notice or eviction notice, housing cost burden (rent is more than 30% of monthly income), or any member of the household has experienced homelessness since March 13, 2020;
• Income (either 2020 annual income or current income at time of application) at or below 80% of Area Median Income for the county of residence.

To learn more about the HOSS program, please visit http://www.destatehousing.com/OtherPrograms/ot_hoss.php.   

About Delaware State Housing Authority

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA), formed in 1968, is dedicated to providing quality, affordable housing opportunities and appropriate supportive services to low- and moderate-income Delawareans. In addition to its role as the State’s Housing Finance Agency, DSHA is unique in that it also serves as a Public Housing Authority and acts as a Community Development and Planning Agency. As a Public Housing Authority, DSHA receives funding from HUD to build, own and operate public housing in Kent and Sussex counties, two of Delaware’s three counties. For more information about DSHA, please call (302) 739-4263 or visit destatehousing.com.

$3 Million Available To Assist With Home Repairs Throughout Delaware

Dover, Del., August 7, 2023 – The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) today announced a partnership with all three Habitat for Humanity organizations in Delaware to administer a $3 million grant program to help eligible Delaware homeowners who need to make critical home repairs, but have been unable to because of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The Delaware Homeowner Assistance Fund (DEHAF) Home Repair Program grant for each household is capped at $20,000. Eligibility requirements include: 

• household income at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI)

• the property must be the homeowner’s primary residence
• the financial hardship must have occurred after January 21, 2020
• the property must be a single-family, detached or attached home or townhouse, a one-to-four-unit single-family condominium, or a mobile or manufactured home.  

The program is intended to address conditions severe enough that, for health or safety reasons, would involuntarily displace the homeowner from the property. Repair work to be done could include:

• pest abatement;
• insulation installation;
• mold and mildew remediation;
• asbestos and lead paint removal;
• heating, cooling, electrical, and plumbing repairs;
• structural issues such as roof, floor, stairway, porch, and window repairs or replacement;
• and the repair, replacement, or installation of accessibility aids such as hand railings, ramps, grab bars and wider doorways.

Homeowners can apply for the DEHAF Home Repair Program grant through their local Habitat for Humanity. Delaware’s three Habitat for Humanity organizations—Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity, and Sussex County Habitat for Humanity— will initiate the application process and obtain required documentation from their respective counties, determine eligibility, and oversee repair work for accepted applications. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the $3 million runs out.

“We are grateful to DSHA for the opportunity to serve more families impacted by COVID through these Homeowner Assistance Funds. Helping individuals and families sustain the homeownership they have worked so hard to obtain is one of our key programs. Our programs build strength, stability, and self-reliance,” said Kevin L. Smith, CEO, Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County.

“Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity extends its sincere gratitude for partnering with the three Habitat Affiliates in Delaware for this critical program. Serving the vulnerable population is our greatest priority and this funding will ensure much-needed support to those impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. We believe in a world where everyone has a decent and safe place to call home,” said Timothy Bailey, CEO, Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity.

The program, tied into DSHA’s Delaware Mortgage Relief Program (DEMRP), is funded by the Homeowner Assistance Fund of the American Rescue Plan Act, which the U.S. Treasury Department distributed to the state of Delaware. The $50 million received is being administered by DSHA and will be available until 2025 or until funds run out, whichever occurs first.

“This funding focused on home repairs is an important step in addressing the housing crisis throughout the state of Delaware,” said Kevin Gilmore, CEO of Sussex County Habitat for Humanity. “The need for this type of program in immense. More than 25,000 owner-occupied homes are in need of repairs in the state. Sussex County Habitat is looking forward to utilizing the funding to help families in our county.”

“Repairs are a part of owning a home; however, when those repairs threaten the safety, peace of mind, and stability of families, something must be done immediately,” said DSHA Director Eugene Young, Jr. “One of DSHA’s main priorities is to keep families in their homes, and we’re proud to partner with Delaware’s Habitats so that families across the state will no longer have to face the possibility of leaving the communities they call home.”

The Statewide Emergency Repair Program (SERP), also DSHA-funded, is managed by Milford Housing Development Corporation and is an additional ongoing program available to homeowners. For more information, please call (302) 491-4010 or toll-free at (844) 413-0038.

About the Delaware State Housing Authority

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA), formed in 1968, provides quality, affordable housing opportunities and appropriate supportive services to low- and moderate-income Delawareans. In addition to its role as the State’s Housing Finance Agency, DSHA is unique because it serves as a Public Housing Authority in Kent and Sussex County and a Community Development and Planning Agency. For more information about the Delaware State Housing Authority, please call: (302) 739-4263 or visit our website at www.destatehousing.com.

About Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity

Since 1990, Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity (CCHFH) has built 80 affordable homes for individuals and families in-need in Kent County, DE. CDHFH has also served more than 500 households through critical repair, aging-in-place, and other housing and counseling programs. A key component in Habitat for Humanity’s global mission is bringing people together. In the last 33 years, CDHFH has brought more than 30,000 volunteers together to serve on build sites and in the ReStore, all in support of affordable housing solutions.

About Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County

Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County (HFHNCC) celebrated 37 years of impact in June of 2023. To date, HFHNCC has built or renovated over 300 homes and served over 1,000 families. Committed to changing lives and landscapes, HFHNCC provides affordable housing solutions for hard working, low-income families. Habitat engages residents in improving their neighborhoods, provides free critical home repairs to preserve existing homeownership, conducts financial literacy and home maintenance education for families in our homeownership program and builds affordable housing.

About Sussex County Habitat for Humanity
Sussex County Habitat for Humanity is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization operated on Christian principles that seeks to put God’s love into action by building homes, communities and hope. Sussex County Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all. For more information or to donate, visit SussexCountyHabitat.org.

Dover, Del. July 17, 2023 – The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) recently announced that it received $2.6 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer the Recovery Housing Program (RHP) Action Plan. 

RHP aims to provide stable, temporary housing for up to two years for individuals in recovery from substance use disorders. DSHA provides funding to build or rehab recovery houses, while the Department of Health and Social Services and the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health fund recovery services. 

The deadline for applications for the RHP grant is August 11 at 4:00 p.m. Only 501(c) (3) nonprofit developers are eligible to apply, although partnerships with other nonprofit and for-profit organizations are encouraged. Applicants should contact DSHA to schedule a pre-application meeting. Grant awards are expected to be announced in October.

“Recovery Housing is an essential part of the substance use disorder treatment and recovery continuum of care,” said Cindy Deakyne, DSHA Housing Project Manager. “It provides safe, healthy, and substance-free living environments centered on peer support and a connection to services that promote long-term recovery, including mutual support groups and recovery services to reduce isolation and relapse. We are proud to oversee this important program.”

Delaware, with one of the highest rates per capita of substance addiction in the United States, was identified by HUD in 2019 as one of the states to receive Block Grant funding for the RHP pilot program. DSHA received $2.2 million in the first round of funding.

In 2022, DSHA awarded grants to two nonprofit organizations to purchase and renovate recovery houses. Impact Life Inc. operates Delaware’s first-ever residential recovery farm in Seaford for ten women and children, and atTAcK Addiction Foundation now operates a recovery house for ten men in Harbeson. 

“Since our grand opening, we have had many life-changing and fulfilling experiences,” said Domenica Personti, Chief Executive Officer of Impact Life. “The women who call this place home are learning to recover from substance abuse while also gaining agricultural skills in a safe, structured environment.”

With the most recent round of funding, DSHA expects to award grants for two or three more Recovery Houses in Delaware. Although the existing two houses are in Sussex County, DSHA welcomes applicants looking to open recovery houses in any of the state’s three counties.

“Addressing substance abuse in our community will take innovative and effective collaborations,” said DSHA Director Eugene Young, Jr. “We look forward to working with our state agency partners, local nonprofits, and the community to expand the number of recovery houses in the state and helping more residents on the road to a new life.”

Recently, the General Assembly passed HS1 for HB114, which creates a voluntary certification process for recovery homes in Delaware. This bill provides training and technical assistance for recovery residence operators and staff as well as enables the data collection needed to study the effectiveness of Delaware’s recovery residences. 

For more information and to apply for the RHP grant, please visit http://www.destatehousing.com/Landlords/dv_cdbg.php. 

About Delaware State Housing Authority

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA), formed in 1968, provides quality, affordable housing opportunities and appropriate supportive services to low- and moderate-income Delawareans. In addition to its role as the State’s Housing Finance Agency, DSHA is unique because it serves as a Public Housing Authority in Kent and Sussex County and a Community Development and Planning Agency. For more information about the Delaware State Housing Authority, please call: (302) 739-4263 or visit our website at: www.destatehousing.

Approximately $3 Million To Build and Restore Affordable Rental Housing in Delaware

Dover, Del. July 12, 2023 – The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) announced its preliminary project award rankings for the 2023 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) allocation last week.

The LIHTC was created in 1986 to encourage private/public investment to preserve and construct affordable rental housing nationwide. Alone and combined with tax-exempt private activity bonds, the LIHTC has been the most productive source of affordable housing financing in the nation’s history. 

Three development projects were awarded $3 million in 10-year federal LIHTCs this year. Recipients were selected based on criteria outlined in DSHA’s Qualified Allocation Plan, which include rent price, location, accessibility, and more. All projects must meet program requirements by the end of the year to receive a formal reservation of tax credit investments.

Developers claim tax credits over ten years, which allows them to balance the construction or rehabilitation costs incurred during the rental housing development. All buildings financed with the LIHTC must remain affordable and in compliance with other program policies for a minimum of 30 years. 

DSHA receives an annual tax credit amount and awards credits annually through a competitive process. The equity raised through the tax credit investment allows developers to attract the additional financing needed to create or restore low-income rental housing.

“DSHA is consistently and aggressively adding new affordable rental units to Delaware’s housing stock,” said Eugene Young, Jr., Director of DSHA. “The development of these communities will transform the lives of families and seniors and bring us one step closer to solving the housing crisis in our state.”

DSHA has administered LIHTC since 1987, adding more than 10,000 affordable units to the state’s housing inventory. For more information please visit: http://destatehousing.com/Developers/dv_lihtc.php.

About the Delaware State Housing Authority

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA), formed in 1968, provides quality, affordable housing opportunities and appropriate supportive services to low- and moderate-income Delawareans. In addition to its role as the State’s Housing Finance Agency, DSHA is unique because it serves as a Public Housing Authority in Kent and Sussex County and a Community Development and Planning Agency. For more information about the Delaware State Housing Authority, please call: (302) 739-4263 or visit our website at www.destatehousing.com.

Millions are currently available for housing projects; Millions more are in the pipeline

Dover, Del. April 18, 2023 – The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) has successfully launched two new affordable housing development programs funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Both programs are part of a multi-tiered approach to address the state’s housing crisis and strengthen communities. 

• The Catalyst Fund ($20 million in housing development assistance), administered in partnership with Cinnaire, launched this month and offers developers construction lending and a sales gap subsidy through ARPA funds to transform vacant and blighted properties into affordable units for low- and moderate-income homebuyers. A virtual information and update session for housing developers will be hosted this Thursday, April 20, at 11:00 a.m. Registration for the session is required.
• The Market Pressure Relief Fund (MPRF) ($10 million in housing development assistance),which launched in January 2023, relieves construction material cost increases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on Delaware’s affordable housing development community by loaning ARPA funds to developers so that projects under construction are completed, and affordable housing units are added to the state’s inventory. Before the application deadline, affordable housing developers throughout the state applied and requested $4 million in assistance. DSHA is evaluating applications and will continue to explore ways to help more construction projects with the remaining MPRF funds. 

Governor John Carney and DSHA announced these programs, just two of five to be created, in July 2022. With more funding and programs in the pipeline this year, Delaware can further unlock potential housing development opportunities and ensure affordability in the existing housing stock.

For instance, ARPA funding will also be available to new creation and preservation development projects that intend to use the 2023 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). Housing developers who meet eligibility requirements may include it with their LIHTC applications, due on Friday, April 28, 2023. If these applications are successful in the LIHTC allocation round, then the ARPA funding will be allocated to the projects to encourage both new units and the preservation of existing units.

Delawareans can stay informed about housing program announcements by signing up for DSHA’s newsletter at destatehousing.com/NewsAndEvents/newsletters.php.

“Delaware has never seen such a significant investment in housing. The programs DSHA is creating have never been executed at this scale,” said Eugene Young, Jr., Director of DSHA. “We’re thrilled with the progress made so far, and we’re not done yet. The impact of our efforts will allow Delaware to focus on what our housing landscape will look like well past 2026 when the funds expire.” 

ABOUT DELAWARE STATE HOUSING AUTHORITY

 The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA), formed in 1968, is dedicated to providing quality, affordable housing opportunities, and appropriate supportive services to low- and moderate-income Delawareans. In addition to its role as the State’s Housing Finance Agency, DSHA is unique in that it serves as a Public Housing Authority and a Community Development and Planning Agency. As a Public Housing Authority, DSHA receives funding from HUD to build, own, and operate public housing in Kent and Sussex counties, two of Delaware’s three counties. For more information about the Delaware State Housing Authority, please call: (888) 363-8808 or visit our website at www.destatehousing.com.