Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs) Through CES

LAHSA is pleased to announce that the American Rescue Plan (ARP) has provided approximately 70,000 emergency housing vouchers (EHVs) for eligible public housing agencies (PHAs) around the United States. There will be 6,806 EHVs available throughout the City and County of Los Angeles. EHVs are tenant-based rental assistance under the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Access will be facilitated through the Coordinated Entry System (CES) for Los Angeles County.

EHVs will be available beginning July 1, 2021. Given this quick timeline, please review the information on this page to determine if you should refer participants with which you are working.

Eligibility

The LA County Coordinated Entry System has identified 7 eligible household types for EHVs:

• Unhoused or housed households who are fleeing, or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking
• Households that are survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking, as defined under Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act (HEARTH Act), the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA)
• Households seeking an emergency transfer through the Interim LAHSA Emergency Transfer Plan under Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
• Households enrolled in time-limited subsidy programs (such as Rapid Re-Housing, Recovery Re-Housing or Shallow Subsidy) who need a permanent housing resource in order to achieve or maintain housing stability (whether currently housed or enrolled and not yet housed)
• Households in interim housing whose sites are closing (such as Project RoomKey sites or Project HomeKey sites that are closing this year)
• Households with long-term enrollment in interim housing (three months or longer)
• Households enrolled in programs that offer navigation, case management, and/or post-lease up retention services (such as Housing Navigation)

EHV Application Status Portal  *** NEW ***

LAHSA and the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) Implementation Team are pleased to announce the launch of the EHV Application Status Portal!

Note: If your record does not appear, and you have submitted all required paperwork, please check back in a few days or contact us via email.

The EHV Application Status Portal will provide information of the households that have submitted an application to LAHSA and the Public Housing Authority (PHA).

Information will include:

• Recent Status Report from the PHA;
• The Public Housing Authority ID for the Household;
• Point of Contact information of whom is currently working with the household;
• PHA Eligibility Worker contact information;
• Date of when the EHV Application was submitted to the PHA;
• Voucher size, issued date, and voucher expiration date;
• RFTA Date;
• Lease-up Date; and
• Housing Resource ID associated with the match (if applicable).

Please note that completion of the Housing Voucher Interest Assessment through Non-HMIS and HMIS avenues does not guarantee selection for an Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV). At this time, households are selected if they are in A-1 and A-2 (Prioritization Guidance). If the household is not populating, they have not been selected for the EHV housing opportunity. If the household was selected, an automated email from our Resource Management System (RMS) will be sent to the Point of Contact for completion of an EHV application.

Instructions

1. Navigate to the EHV Application Status Portal
2. Enter the Clarity ID or Victim Service Provider (VSP) ID
   • If record appears, this indicates that LAHSA has submitted the EHV Application to a Public Housing Authority
   • If a record does not appear, one or more of the following may apply:
     • Please ensure you are the registered Point of Contact (POC) on the Housing Voucher Interest Assessment, or belong to the same agency as the registered POC; or
     • Please ensure you have been listed as an updated POC. If you are the new POC, please submit an updated ROI to ehv@lahsa.org; or
     • Please allow LAHSA a two-week application review period for recent submissions; or
     • If the foregoing have been met and your record does not appear, this indicates that the household is still being considered but has not been selected based on the current prioritization guidance. Please check for any updates to the EHV Prioritization Guidance for more information. 

Problem-Solving Training

Problem-Solving Assistance Funds (PSAF) will be available to support security deposits for EHVs if other programs' funds are not available (such as in Rapid Re-Housing and Recovery Re-Housing programs). To utilize these assistance funds, you will need to first take the Problem-Solving training that applies to you listed below:

• HMIS User Training Pathway (HMIS user Problem-Solving Training)
• Non-Traditional Partner Training Pathway (Non-HMIS user Problem-Solving Training)

For questions regarding this training, please reach out to problem-solving@lahsa.org.

EHV Reference Materials

• Interim EHV Policy
• EHV Referral Training Presentation
• EHV Referral Training Webinar
• EHV Referral Training for Organizations Working with Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, Stalking, and Human Trafficking
• EHV Application and Coversheet
• EHV Sample Application and Coversheet
• EHV Application Training Video
• EHV Informational Flyer
• EHV Interest Assessment Form for Victim Service Providers (VSPs)
• EHV Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Office Hours and Additional Resources

• Tuesday May 17, 2022 10AM - 11:30AM: EHV Lease in Place
• Tuesday March 1, 2022 10AM- 11:30AM: EHV HACLA Application Training
• Tuesday February 8, 2022 10AM-11AM: Unit Acquisition and Landlord Engagement 
• Tuesday February 1, 2022 10AM-11AM : Lease in Place
• Tuesday November 23 10AM-11AM : Negotiating Rents (voucher standards vs comps)
• Tuesday November 30 10AM-11AM : Review: The EHV Program
• Tuesday December 7 10AM-11AM : Landlord Engagement and Incentives
• Tuesday December 14 10AM-11AM : The Lease Up Process (RFTA, landlord support, contract execution, etc.)
• EHV - Sample RTA
• EHV - Sample RFTA
• EHV Office Hours Powerpoint - February 1 - EHV Application Status Portal
• EHV Office Hours Powerpoint - December 14 - Lease Up Process
• EHV Office Hours Powerpoint - December 7 - Transition in Place
• EHV Office Hours Powerpoint - November 23 - Voucher Payment Standards
• EHV Office Hours Powerpoint - Waivers
• EHV Office Hours Questions and Answers - Waivers
• EHV Office Hours Recording - Waivers 
• EHV Office Hours Powerpoint - Immigration and Citizenship Status
• EHV Office Hours Questions and Answers - Immigration and Citizenship Status
• EHV Office Hours Recording - Immigration and Citizenship Status 
• EHV Office Hours Powerpoint - Common Application Mistakes
• EHV Office Hours Question and Answer - Common Application Mistakes
• EHV Office Hours Recording - Common Application Mistakes

If you have additional questions, please email EHV@lahsa.org.