HOPE Housing Strategy Rapidly Develops Units across Los Angeles County
Clockwise from top left: new HOPE Independent Living homes on Summit Avenue in Pasadena, 24 Hour Residential Care Home on Tern Bay Lane in Lakewood, and an Independent Living home on Hayford Avenue in Norwalk.
by Lauren Quijano and Ian Nevarez
HOPE continues to expand its housing strategy across Los Angeles County, developing units for one of the most historically marginalized populations in the community: people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). These disabilities include autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and other similar conditions. Today, the need for specialized housing that addresses their safety, income level, ADA requirements, location constraints, mobility, and service needs is in high demand. This past year, HOPE has made incredible progress in accomplishing our mission across the region with the acquisition of six new housing locations in Los Angeles County.
Because there are people with I/DDs living in every neighborhood who require safe, stable housing, we believe that HOPE must be able to create homes rapidly in as many different communities throughout our service area as possible. Today, we can do this on an expedited timeline – often from start to finish in 12-18 months per project – due in part to our primary use of an acquisition and rehab strategy that focuses on purchasing existing single-family residences (SFRs) and small multi-family housing sites. This timeline is often a fraction of the potential 3-5 years that many larger affordable housing projects require for completion. Our acquisition & rehab strategy also allows us to integrate into neighborhoods that would be more difficult to enter if we were carrying out new construction.
Beyond this, we have cultivated decades-long business partnerships to ensure the swift purchase, renovation, and management of new HOPE housing. We leverage local, affordable housing resources in collaboration with city and county housing authorities in order to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) in their jurisdictions.
HOPE residents, Alex. (HOPE)
HOPE is also proud to collaborate with the Regional Center system that provides case management and supportive services for people with I/DD living at HOPE housing. On our most recent acquisitions, we partnered with both Harbor Regional Center and Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center. These agencies are committed to offering the choice and options in housing and services necessary to meet their clients' unique needs. Other notable Regional Center partners across Los Angeles County include the North Los Angeles County Regional Center and Westside Regional Center. On top of these collaborations, HOPE has strong relationships with the service provider sector, including agencies such as Aacres, LLC., Ambitions, CPES, California MENTOR, and Social Vocational Services.
Our approach ensures that A) we continue to add new housing stock to our portfolio each year, B) our homes are inclusive in the community, and C) the onsite services provided to our residents are as unrestrictive as possible. With our partners, HOPE is committed to ensuring that our residents continue to live in neighborhoods where they feel supported and closely connected to the broader cities that they live.
Since January of 2019, HOPE has developed the following housing:
Long Beach: 9 new units | 9 residents served
In 2019 and 2020, respectively, HOPE acquired a seven-unit, multi-family residence along Clark Avenue and a duplex off of Cedar Avenue, both in the City of Long Beach. These new locations bring our total affordable housing in the City of Long Beach to 41 sites that serve 159 residents with I/DD. These home acquisitions were made possible thanks in part to the support of Harbor Regional Center, local elected officials, and the City of Long Beach Department of Development Services. In addition, the following private sources funded renovations at this property: Wells Fargo Bank, MUFG Union Bank Foundation, Bank of the West, Del Harbor Foundation, TABC, and Long Beach Community Foundation. This new housing would not have been possible without their contributions.
HOPE property on Clark Avenue in Long Beach. (HOPE)
The homes along Clark Avenue operate under our Supportive Housing model, which provides residents with their own individual units and access to broader supported living services from staff who work out of dedicated, onsite offices. Thanks to providers like California Mentor, our residents continue to receive the services they need to maintain their quality of life and independence.
The duplex off of Cedar Avenue is in the renovation stage of development, and the housing model will be determined shortly based on resident needs in the community. The City of Long Beach graciously provided these two units to HOPE for $1 as a testament to our longstanding housing service to the community. Our partnership with the City of Long Beach is an outstanding example of municipal collaboration with HOPE's mission that produces community-integrated housing for people with I/DD in alignment with current city zoning and neighborhood architectural character.
“I had the pleasure of working with HOPE during my time as Director of Development Services at the City of Long Beach. They continue to champion innovated approaches at the local level to address the housing needs of people with developmental disabilities throughout the LA region.”
Finally, the Del Harbor Foundation generously provided $25,000 of financial support to complete the renovations of this future housing.
Pasadena: 14 new units | 19 residents served
Earlier this year, in partnership with the Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center, HOPE acquired 14 additional units scattered throughout the City of Pasadena. These homes are located along Worcester, Fair Oaks, and Summit Avenues.
New HOPE Supported Living Homes on Worcester Ave, in Pasadena, CA. (CRMRS)
Our Worchester Avenue location was acquired in February of this year and is housing for eight residents with I/DD. These homes operate under our Independent Living model that is designed to empower adults with developmental disabilities to live with increased self-reliance. Residents pay only a fraction of the rent they would otherwise have to pay to live in a market-rate apartment. Rose Hills Foundation provided a substantial grant of $150,000 to support the acquisition and renovation of this project.
The housing off of Fair Oaks became available in May of this year as homes for five residents with I/DD. It will operate as Supportive Housing. Summit Avenue, which also became available in May, is housing for six people with I/DD and will operate as Independent Living homes.
Due to these acquisitions' timing, many of the units in Pasadena were initially used to support the housing needs of people impacted by Covid-19. According to Kaiser Health News, "The CDC is now citing stable housing as a vital tool to control the coronavirus, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans. Home is where people isolate themselves to avoid transmitting the virus or becoming infected. When local governments issue stay-at-home orders in the name of public health, they presume that residents have a home. For people who have the virus, home is often where they recover from COVID-19's fever, chills, and dry cough — in lieu of, or after, a hospital stay." HOPE was glad to be able to support community health in this capacity. As the need for COVID-19 related emergency units subsides, we will be transitioning these homes to begin fulfilling their intended purpose as long-term affordable housing.
Lakewood & Norwalk: 2 units | 6 residents served
HOPE recognized at Norwalk City Council event. (HOPE)
Finally, HOPE is proud to announce two new properties, one in Lakewood on Tern Bay Lane and one in Norwalk on Hayford Street. The single-family residence on Hayford is another Independent Living home for three residents. The Rose Hills Foundation supported this acquisition and rehab with a $100,000 award. The house on Tern Bay will operate under our 24-hour Residential Care model. This model serves clients with increased medical and behavioral needs. Residents receive around the clock support from state-licensed service providers in safe, comfortable home environments. The City of Norwalk provided HOPE with $200,000 in HOME Investment Partnerships Program and $50,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to support this property's acquisition and rehab.
Future HOPE Housing
HOPE strives to implement a person-centered philosophy when locating our housing across the region. To do this, we use data collected from our current residents and individuals on our waiting list to inform our decision-making process on where to locate future HOPE homes. There is indeed a desire by people with I/DD for affordable housing all across Los Angeles County. Our records indicate that 59% of people currently on our waitlist pay over 50% of their income on rent. According to experts at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), housing is considered unaffordable when a tenant pays more than 30% of their income on rent. To meet the demand for affordable housing, HOPE has set a goal to create 250 additional housing units by 2025. To accomplish this, we will continue to implement our unique housing strategy while exploring innovative approaches to expanding our portfolio.
In total, HOPE currently operates 98 locations that contain 150+ units of housing. These homes serve 360+ people across 18 cities: Artesia (1 location, 3 residents), Bellflower (5 locations, 19 residents), Burbank (4 locations, 16 residents), Carson (4 locations, 13 residents), Cerritos (3 locations, 9 residents), Hawthorne (1 location, 4 residents), Lakewood (4 locations, 12 residents), Long Beach (41 locations, 159 residents) Los Angeles (4 locations, 14 residents), Lomita (2 locations, 6 residents), North Hills (3 locations, 11 residents), Northridge (2 locations, 8 residents), Norwalk (8 locations, 25 residents), Pasadena (3 locations, 19 residents), South Gate (2 locations, 8 residents), Sylmar (1 location, 5 residents), Torrance (8 locations, 25 residents), and Wilmington (1 location, 3 residents).
The value of empowering individuals to live as active and contributing members of society is at the very heart of HOPE. We invite city, business, and foundation partners throughout Los Angeles County to collaborate with us in creating housing for residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Let's build community together!
If your business, foundation, or local government is interested in partnering with HOPE, please contact Ian Nevarez, Director of Organizational Development at ian.nevarez@hope-homes.org. Help us advance our mission of creating housing for people with I/DD across Los Angeles County.