MidPen Housing: Bienestar Plaza Family Apartments Now Leasing

Located within a housing and health hub in the heart of Live Oak, Bienestar Plaza  includes rental homes for families and individuals, including those with supportive housing needs. MidPen Housing has partnered with Dientes Community Dental and Santa Cruz Community Health to create a 3.6-acre state-of-the-art campus featuring 57 new affordable homes, a 20,000-square-foot primary care center and an 11-chair dental clinic.
Bienestar Plaza will include four buildings, offering 40 project-based Section 8 units, 25 of which will be filled via the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz waitlist. These units will have a local preference. The remaining 16 units will be filled via the MidPen waiting list. 

The application period for Bienestar Plaza open April 24, 2023 and closes May 12, 2023. A link to applications will be available here starting April 24. Applications are selected through a lottery. Click here for flyers in English and Spanish. Click here for FAQ packet. 

Coordinated Entry: A New Connection Approach

Coordinated Entry is a systemic approach to connecting people experiencing homelessness with available assistance in the community. It is an important way to ensure fair and equitable access to limited housing resources and is a federal and state requirement.

After a three-month pilot period, Housing for Health Partnership has launched a redesigned Coordinated Entry System. The new system uses designated "Connectors" who apply housing problem-solving techniques and new assessment and planning tools to assist as many people experiencing homelessness as possible. The approach recognizes there isn’t an immediate housing resource available for each person, so the focus is on providing individual assistance. The concept is to help people gain access to an array of potential supports rather than putting everyone on a list that, for most, does not result in regaining housing.

To learn more about Coordinated Entry goals and an overview of the process, click here. 

PIT Count Update and Volunteer Survey

We are grateful to our community of volunteers, outreach teams, peer guides, consultants, internal and external stakeholders for your participation and support. The 2023 PIT Count was a success despite the harsh weather conditions. Preliminary results for the 2023 PIT Count will be submitted at the end of April. The final report is expected to be published this summer. A copy of the final report will be posted on the Housing for Health Partnership website and sent out via our newsletter once approved.

If you were a volunteer at the PIT Count, we'd encourage you to provide feedback via this survey. We appreciate your feedback about your experience. Click here to take the survey, it should take no more than 5 minutes of your time.

Affordable Housing Month Community Conversation & Celebration

Hosted by: Housing Santa Cruz County and Santa Cruz Public Libraries

Kick-off Affordable Housing Month with a celebration! Join Housing Santa Cruz County and partners, including the Housing for Health Partnership, from across the region as we kick off Affordable Housing Month at Cabrillo College's Samper Recital Hall on Saturday, May 6, from 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm. 

The celebration will feature keynote speaker Shane Phillips, urban planner, policy expert and author of The Affordable City: Strategies for Putting Housing Within Reach (and Keeping it There), as well as a children's corner with a book reading by Leticia Hernández-Linares, author of the children's book "Alejandria Fights Back!", an outdoor resource fair with food trucks and live music from Matt Masih and the Messengers.

Indoor capacity is limited. To register for this free Affordable Housing Month event click here.

$250 million for Yield Giving Open Call

Lever For Change released a $250 million Yield Giving Open Call in March. The initiative, led by philanthropist McKenzie Scott, is looking to connect with community-led, community-focused organizations focused on improving the well-being of individuals and communities that have faced systemic discrimination or other systemic obstacles. Through the Open Call, 250 organizations will each receive an unrestricted gift of $1 million.

More details on who is eligible to apply can be found here. Please note that interested organizations must register to apply before 4:00 p.m. Central Time, Friday, May 5. All completed applications are due by 4:00 p.m. Central Time, Monday, June 12.