SRO Project Gets Big Boost from Community Foundation

In case you didn't hear the news, the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (CACF) made a major announcement yesterday regarding the Single Room Occupancy (SRO) supportive housing project for the homeless that the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless, PACEM, Piedmont Housing Alliance and other groups have been collaboratively working to get off the ground for the past couple of years (as I mentioned on this blog back in May). A big thanks to CACF for their tremendous show of vision and support! And congratulations to Virginia Supportive Housing, who will use the CACF funding to move this exciting project forward.

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December 2, 2008

Charlottesville Area Community Foundation Announces Second Annual Catalyst Grant to Virginia Supportive Housing

The $75,000 grant will support the creation of a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing project for Charlottesville’s homeless population

Today the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (CACF) is pleased to announce its second annual Catalyst Grant in support of the creation of a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing project to provide permanent, supportive housing to Charlottesville’s homeless population. The $75,000 grant has been awarded to Virginia Supportive Housing (VSH), a Richmond-based nonprofit that is partnering with local community leaders to develop an SRO for the Charlottesville area.

Single Room Occupancy projects are studio apartment buildings with on site property management and support services staff. SROs have been widely recognized, in many other communities, to be an effective way of moving homeless people off the streets and out of shelters and into stable living conditions.

Founded in 1988, Virginia Supportive Housing (VSH) is a private, non-profit 501(c)3 community development corporation that provides permanent housing and comprehensive support services to individuals and families who are homeless or who have disabilities in order to initiate and promote their transition to productivity and independence. VSH is managed by a twenty-three member Board of Directors and supported by a Council of Advocates.

In 2005, the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless (TJACH), working in partnership with the Piedmont Housing Alliance, PACEM, and other organizations, received a pre-development grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to pursue the creation of the first Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing facility in the Charlottesville area. In October 2008 Charlottesville City Council included the development of an SRO Project in its “Strategic Priorities for Use of Charlottesville Housing Funds.”

Virginia Supportive Housing Services is in the site development phase of the project. This fall students from UVa’s School of Architecture have been assisting with the review of several sites throughout Charlottesville. VSH plans to determine a site by spring of 2009, after conversations with local community and business groups, and hopes to break ground on the project in 2010.

“The CACF Catalyst Grant will have a direct impact on the affordable housing challenge in the Charlottesville area by providing proven, permanent housing blended with appropriate levels of support services to help clients stay housed – and find the support they need to succeed in other areas of life,” said Candice Streett, VSH Deputy Director.

Launched in 2007, the Catalyst Grant initiative allows CACF to address current unmet needs in the community. By bringing critical issues to light the CACF Catalyst Grant draws attention to community problems while leveraging dollars to fund innovative solutions. For the first three years, the Catalyst Grant will be directed to affordable housing projects; in 2010 CACF will focus the Catalyst Grant on another pressing community need.

To make a tax-deductible contribution to the CACF Catalyst Grant please make checks payable to the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation with a note in the memo for the Catalyst Grant. Mail checks to CACF, P.O. Box 1767, Charlottesville, VA 22902 or go to http://www.cacfonline.org/.

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The Charlottesville Area Community Foundation is a permanent endowment dedicated improving the quality of life in Charlottesville and the Counties of Albemarle, Greene, Orange, Louisa, Fluvanna, Buckingham, and Nelson. CACF makes grants of more than $4 million annually through its Community Endowment and its many donor-advised funds. Since its inception in 1967, the Community Foundation has made grants of more than $27 million to hundreds of nonprofit agencies. www.cacfonline.org