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25 <br /> CR-30 - Public Housing 91.220(h); 91.320(j) <br /> Actions taken to address the needs of public housing <br /> Public housing in Orange County is provided by the Town of Chapel Hill's Affordable Housing and <br /> Community Connections Department.The Orange County Housing Authority(OCHA), part of the Orange <br /> County Housing Department, provides tenant-based assistance and has been allocated 687 Housing <br /> Choice Vouchers (HCV, commonly known as Section 8), of which 640 are being actively administered. <br /> The 640 vouchers include 20 HUD-VASH Vouchers and four(4) Homeowner Vouchers. OCHA does not <br /> manage any public housing units. OCHA is overseen by a seven (7) member Board.The Orange County <br /> HOME Consortium undertook the following to address the needs of HCV holders: <br /> • In partnership with the Towns and local nonprofits,the County worked to increase the number <br /> of landlords willing to participate in the HCV Program. Orange County Housing Department's <br /> Housing Access Coordinator arranges quarterly landlord workshops to recruit more landlords to <br /> accept vouchers and to help connect voucher holders and other low-income households with <br /> affordable housing options.The County has also established two landlord incentive programs— <br /> a lease-signing bonus and a damages fund—to recruit and retain more landlords. <br /> • The County worked to streamline the design and administration of the housing stabilization <br /> funds (designed to help low-income renters, including HCV holders, secure and maintain stable <br /> housing) offered by the County and each of the Towns. In spring of 2020, a streamlined program <br /> called the Emergency Housing Assistance program was created using funds from the County and <br /> Towns, as well as Coronavirus Relief Funds and other state and federal funding sources. <br /> • OCHA ensured units in which households in the HCV Program live are safe and healthy by <br /> conducting Quality Control inspections on a subset of units. <br /> • The County laid the groundwork to implement a "Move On" program, in which people with <br /> Permanent Supportive Housing Vouchers (PSHVs) whose service needs have lowered <br /> considerably and/or who no longer need services are transitioned to HCVs,freeing up PSHVs for <br /> more vulnerable individuals with higher service needs. <br /> Actions taken to encourage public housing residents to become more involved in <br /> management and participate in homeownership <br /> OCHA does not own any public housing units. However, OCHA has HCV holder involvement on its Board <br /> and encourages HCV holders to become homeowners. Additionally, OCHA has revived its <br /> Homeownership Voucher program,which allows HCV clients to use their subsidy toward mortgage <br /> payments. OCHA staff has sent applications to about a dozen interested clients so far.The Chapel Hill <br /> Office of Housing and Community provides programs and services for public housing residents, as well <br /> as the broader neighborhood and community.These include community clean-ups, neighborhood pop- <br /> ups, a weekly food bank program, a Reading Partners program, National Night Out, senior bingo (in <br /> conjunction with the Hargraves Community Center), an International Potluck, and a 2020 Census <br /> Information Center. <br /> 24 <br />