Housing in Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles

Housing

The Beyond Shelter program:  The Beyond Shelter specializes in assisting individuals who are homeless or about to be homeless.  Their goal is to find housing as well as to provide support services for people to maintain their homes once they have re-located.  There are MANY programs at the Beyond Shelter that include housing case management.  Contact them at:   Beyond Shelter, 205 South Broadway, Suite 608, Los Angeles, CA 90012, telephone: (213) 252-0772, fax: (213) 480-0846. 

The Weingart Center Located in downtown Los Angeles' Skid Row, the Weingart Center helps homeless men and women:

• Find and keep a permanent place to live
• Retain a job
• Maintain sobriety from drugs and alcohol
• Increase their level of education
• Improve their mental and physical health
• Repair their credit
• Reunite with their families

The Wiengart Center assists people with finding Transitional Residential Housing  

• Substance Abuse Recovery 
• Education     
• Medical Treatment
• Mental Health                  
• Long Term Case Management     
• Workforce Development   
• Permanent Supportive Housing 
• Family Services    
• Life Skills
• Nutritious Meals    
• Work Appropriate Attire
• Legal, Credit, Tax Aid

Tips for housing Referrals

Individual cities sometimes do a better job than non-profits, and county agencies.  Do not forget to add a city’s City Hall number to your list of referrals.  Always ask for a person’s zip code or city so you know where to start looking.  Senior Centers and Independent Living Centers are good referrals too.  Developmentally Disabled individuals may find help through their Regional Center if they are enrolled in that program and the Department of Mental Health also has programs for housing resources for people with mental illnesses.

THE SECTION 8 HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

The Section 8 Housing Assistance Program provides a federally-funded housing-assistance payment ("Section 8 voucher") to eligible families and individuals. Rather than being provided with a specific unit at a subsidized housing site, Section 8 participant-tenants are free to use their voucher to locate and contract for housing from a network of participating landlords throughout the Los Angeles area.

• The Section 8 Program opened for registrations from September 15, 1998 through October 1, 1998. After receiving 150,000 registrations, a computerized lottery was conducted to assign each registrant a place on our new waiting list.
• There is a waiting list for Section 8 rental assistance because there are many more extremely low and very low-income families eligible to participate in the Section 8 Program than can be assisted with the money Congress provides. In Los Angeles, HUD estimates that only one in ten eligible families (10%) receives rental assistance.
• Section 8 rental assistance and public housing assistance are not "entitlement" programs like other assistance programs such as Social Security where a person is entitled to receive Social Security retirement benefits with no waiting when he/she reachs age 62.
• Section 8 and public housing assistance are domestic "discretionary" programs, The discretionary spending budget is subject to spending cuts, competing priorities, and Congressional budget cuts. Discretionary programs receive only the amount of money Congress provides for them.
• If you have any questions, change of information, or concerns regarding your registration, you must write to:

Section 8 Applications & Contracting
Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles

FOY Station, Post Office Box 17965-0965

Los Angeles, CA 90017-0965

• The Housing Authority has no city residency requirement. However, eligible applicants who live outside city limits must move to and live within the Los Angeles city limits for the first year of the contract.

SECTION 8 REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

Due to a lack of Federal funding, the Housing Authority City of Los Angeles is closed for new registrations for the Section 8 Program and is not issuing any new vouchers at this time. If you have already registered and need to report a change of address, or if you have any other changes or questions, please submit them in writing to: Section 8 Registrations, Housing Authority City of Los Angeles, Foy Station, P.O. Box 17965-0965, Los Angeles, California 90017-0965 or you can send it via fax to (213) 252-1218. Please include 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. your name, registration number, address (old and new address if you are changing your address) social security number, and date of birth.  The Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA) HACoLA is the county version of the program written about previously; according to their web-site they “empower families by providing clean, safe and decent affordable housing for low-income families, seniors, and disabled persons.  The Housing Authority manages more than 3,600 units of public and other affordable housing at 70 sites throughout Los Angeles County. http://www.hacla.org/section8/home.htm Through HACoLA, the CDC helps more than 20,000 low-income families and senior citizens find affordable housing with private landlords through the federal Section 8 program.   http://www.lacdc.org/CDCWebsite/HA/Home.aspx

http://www.hacla.org/section8/home.htm

Los Angeles County Housing Resource Center

877- 428- 8844  6AM – 5PM PST or 704- 334-8722

Fax: 704-334-0779

 

Alternative Living for the Aging

937 N. Fairfax Avenue
West Hollywood, California 90046
Call for a appointment
323-650-7988  (Monday - Friday,  9 to 5)

1) Cooperative Housing

Singles, one bedrooms, or private suites in

• Beverly/Fairfax area of Los Angeles * West Hollywood * Santa Monica

Seniors who have an extra room in their house, condo, or apartment can meet and possibly match with potential housemates who

• Would pay rent (a standard housemate/roommate situation)

OR

• Help with services such as shopping, transportation, companionship for a reduced rent or an even exchange

And for Non-Seniors There is a Housemate Matching Program

Younger people (mid-age, students, et al) can meet and possibly match with seniors in the senior's house, condo, or apartment and could:

• Pay rent (a standard housemate/roommate situation) 

OR

• Help the senior with household services for a reduced rent or an exchange
  The agency interviews each potential roommate and obtains references;
  the decision to make a match is always up to the two potential roommates.