Housing Assistance Fund

Housing Assistance Fund (HAF) Program Changes — Effective Immediately

Due to a significant decline in available funding, the Housing Assistance Fund (HAF) is implementing critical changes that will affect providers’ ability to access funds on behalf of clients.

Effective immediately, HAF assistance will only be available to support unhoused individuals in securing housing. At this time, it is uncertain whether additional funding will become available for the program.

New Program Limitations

Because of current funding constraints, the HAF program will no longer approve pre-eviction or homelessness prevention requests.

Only the following types of assistance will be accepted for unhoused participants:

  • Move-in deposits
  • First month’s rent
  • Essential household items (up to $500 per participant)

Requests must be submitted by a Connector (participants must be enrolled in Coordinated Entry and HMIS).

Deposit and rental assistance will only be approved at the time of move-in.

All other HAF expense requests will be declined until further notice.

Exceptions

These changes do not apply to:

  • Behavioral Health (BH) assistance requests
  • Transitional Age Youth (TAY) assistance requests

The HAF program and Housing for Health staff sincerely appreciate your continued dedication and support for our participants.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we navigate these challenging circumstances.


Housing Assistance Fund (HAF)

The Housing Assistance Fund (HAF), managed by Santa Cruz County’s Housing for Health Division in partnership with the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, provides flexible funding to help eligible county residents and their families secure and maintain long-term, stable housing.

The fund draws from multiple sources, allowing assistance to be tailored to the unique needs of each household experiencing a housing crisis.

HAF applications must be prepared and submitted on behalf of participants by eligible providers, who are currently limited to licensed HMIS users. Before submitting a funding request, providers are required to attend or view the recorded HAF training and review the HAF policies document linked below.

For questions about the HAF program can be sent to H4H.HousingAssistanceFund@SantaCruzCountyCA.gov.


Housing Assistance Fund Training


Donate to the Housing Assistance Fund

To help keep our neighbors housed, please consider donating to the Housing Assistance Fund (HAF).

Your contribution provides flexible support that can be tailored to the unique needs of each household experiencing a housing crisis.

The fund is administered in partnership with Santa Cruz County’s Housing for Health Division and the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County.

 

Donate Today

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