Olmstead Housing Subsidy Program - New York Association on Independent Living

518-465-4650

518-465-4625

Low Income/Subsidized Private Rental Housing

A statewide rental subsidy and transitional housing support program designed to mirror Housing Choice Vouchers, or Section 8, for a specialized population of high need Medicaid beneficiaries. Program is intended to help seniors and people with disabilities leave nursing homes or prevent nursing home placement by stabilizing their housing. Ensures that seniors and people with disabilities can afford accessible, safe, sanitary, and sustainable housing in the community.

Participants in the program also have access to supportive services to ensure that community-based services are in place, and that participants know and understand their rights and responsibilities. Participants are free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and are not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects, such as senior housing. Housing Specialists work with participants to locate housing in the community of their choice and will complete an inspection of the rental unit to ensure health and safety standards are met. Rental units must also be at or below fair market rent, as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in order to qualify for the program.

There will also be funding available for “community transition services” which includes security deposits, moving expenses, utility payments and household establishment purchases.

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High need Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in Medicaid who are homeless, living in a Skilled Nursing Facility for at least 120 consecutive days, and have the ability to live safely in the community.

Service Area: NYS.

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Those residing in Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara, Orleans, or Wyoming County should contact David Marg, Regional Contact for these counties at Southwestern Independent Living Center (call 716-661-3010 or email David@ilc-jamestown-ny.org), or Jennifer Pils, Regional Contact for these counties at Western New York Independent Living (call 716-284-4131 or email JPils@wynil.org).

Those residing in Genesee County should contact John Simaitis, Regional Contact at the Center for Disability Rights (call 585-546-7510 or email JSimaitis@cdrnys.org).

Tenant pays approximately a third of their monthly income toward rent and the OHS program subsidizes the rest. A Housing Specialist will determine the amount owed to the landlord by the tenant and the amount covered by the OHS program. A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly and on-time by the Fiscal Intermediary on behalf of the participating individual. The OHS participant then pays the difference between the rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program. Participants in the OHS program must pay their portion of the rent on-time or risk losing their subsidy.

Sep 30, 2020