ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) to continue providing relief from the Covid-19 pandemic impacts.

EHVs are tenant-based rental assistance under Section 8, which means they are given to a specific family. A family can be one person. In other words, EHVs are not limited to a unit, housing complex, or county.

EHVs cannot be used in a Project-Based Voucher (PBV) unit.

Just like Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV), there is no time limit to rental assistance with an EHV.

EHVs are for low-income families like HCVs.  iNDIVIDUALS OR FAMILIES IN AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES ARE ELIGIBLE:

  • experiencing homelessness;
  • at risk of experiencing homelessness;
  • fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking; or
  • were recently homeless and for whom providing rental assistance will prevent the family’s homelessness or having high risk of housing instability.

The Housing Authority has established a partnership with the County of Santa Cruz Continuum of Care (CoC) for implementing the EHV Program.

EHVs are issued based on direct referrals from the CoC’s Coordinated Entry System, titled Smart Path to Housing for Health

HOW TO APPLY

To contact the CoC’s Smart Path Housing for Health team for a referral to the EHV Program, click here or call 2-1-1

HOW EHVS DIFFER FROM HCVS

  • Applicants are referred directly to the Housing Authority EHV program by the CoC’s Smart Path team.
  • Applicants receive case management and housing search assistance from the agency that referred them to the EHV program
  • When you initially lease-up with the EHV, the Housing Authority will send a $2000 bonus to your new landlord!
  • Your family can request to take your assistance to another county at any time; this is called Portability

If you are homeless or at risk of homelessness and need rental assistance, please contact the Smart Path for Housing and Health for information about programs and services.

If you have already received an Emergency Housing Voucher and have questions about the program, please call 831-454-5933

If you are a landlord with questions about the Emergency Housing Voucher program, please call 831-454-5917