CES Housing Team
CES Housing Team
The CES Housing Team at the Community Alliance for the Homeless (CAFTH) plays a crucial role in securing and sustaining affordable housing for individuals and families in Memphis and Shelby County. This team engages with property owners, landlords, and community partners to identify and expand affordable housing opportunities. The CES Housing team holds regular meetings and events to facilitate collaboration and share insights among housing providers.
DISCLAIMER: While Community Alliance for the Homeless organizes and facilitates the initiatives below, we DO NOT PROVIDE DIRECT SERVICES TO CLIENTS. Directing clients to seek help directly from us will result in the client being sent back to you, prolonging and complicating their search for housing support.
- CES Housing Team
- Housing Vouchers
- Landlord Engagement
- Affordable Low Barrier Housing (ALBH)
- Housing Meetings & Events
What does the Housing Team do?
The CAFTH Housing Team provide support and engagement with the community as it relates to housing providers, landlords, and community partners.
Senior Housing Navigator – Tanisha Joyner, MSW, LSSW
The Senior Housing Navigator continuously identifies property owners and property management companies that provide affordable housing in Memphis and Shelby County. This role involves seeking affordable housing opportunities and establishing new partnerships with builders interested in developing affordable homes and communities. The Senior Housing Navigator supports partnered housing providers with all aspects of affordable housing, including helping them find resources for their clients to sustain their housing. The objective is to advocate for the specific affordable housing needs presented by partner agencies.
Additionally, this role serves as the liaison between the Memphis Housing Authority and partner agencies, assisting with the promotion and distribution of housing choice vouchers and helping partner agencies refer their clients to these vouchers.
The intention is to make all resources for affordable housing accessible to those providing housing services to clients. Looking ahead, the goal is to bring together all stakeholders committed to making affordable housing accessible into one collaborative space to advocate collectively for affordable housing.
Housing Navigator – LaWanda Haley
As a Housing Navigator at CAFTH, this role is primarily responsible for landlord engagement. The Housing Navigator dedicates their days to finding affordable housing options for the homeless and those at risk of homelessness in Shelby County, TN. Additionally, they manage and update the affordable housing resource document, giving consideration to the unique vulnerabilities of those engaging the homeless service system.
The Housing Navigator supports both the CoC and CES teams by facilitating housing case manager meetings, hosting landlord engagement events, and attending relevant CAFTH committee meetings. Working within the CES team, they meticulously search for properties that meet HUD’s Fair Market Rate for Y22, a challenging task given the high rental rates in the area.
The role involves collaborating with over 12 agencies, meeting monthly with MIG groups, W.I.R.E.D, Multi-Family Housing Developers, and Realtors, and exploring both company-managed and privately-owned rental properties. Beyond housing, the Housing Navigator helps housing providers access employment, transportation, and essential appliances. Proactive engagement with BLDG keeps them updated on new developments in Memphis, ensuring the best possible support for those in need.
Mainstream/Move-On Vouchers
Mainstream Voucher Referrals MUST be completed and submitted by service providers on behalf of the Voucher applicant. Complete All required Referral Forms below and submit to Tanisha Joyner, Housing Navigator at tanisha@cafth.org
NOTE: ALL Mainstream Referrals and Applications MUST BE TYPED, MHA is no longer accepting hand-written referrals and applicaitons.
Foster Youth Initiative (FYI) Vouchers
The Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) initiative makes Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) assistance available to Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) in partnership with Public Child Welfare Agencies (PCWAs). Under FYI, PHAs provide housing assistance on behalf of:
Youth at least 18 years and not more than 24 years of age (have not reached their 25th birthday) who left foster care, or will leave foster care within 90 days, in accordance with a transition plan described in Section 475(5)(H) of the Social Security Act, and are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless at age 16 or older.
***Please note that referrals for these programs must be submitted by an agency affiliated with CAFTH, and referrals are not accepted directly from individuals in need of assistance.
Landlord Engagement
The CAFTH Housing Team is constantly looking for new landlords and property owners who have available affordable housing. We hope that you are open to accepting housing subsidies and housing choice vouchers as well. A housing team member will be assigned to you to maintain an ongoing partnership and communication regarding your available units. With your partnership, your unit(s) will be shared with our partner providers. Additionally, there will be events hosted by the CAFTH Housing Team that will allow our partnered providers to network with our partnered landlords and property owners. If you are interested, please complete the landlord interest form, and a housing team member will contact you.
Report Newly Available Units & Properties
The below form is for landlords to report new available units/properties to the CAFTH CES Housing Team. These updates will be fed into the Available Properties List Below.
(**NEW FORM COMING SOON**)
Available Properties
CAFTH’s Housing Navigators work diligently to make relationships with a variety of housing providers and offer a comprehensive list of Available Properties within our city and network to those who are seeking low barrier, affordable housing. Below is the continuously updated list of Available Properties.
Affordable Low Barrier Housing (ALBH)
The Affordable Low-Barrier Housing (ALBH) Program, created by the Community Alliance for the Homeless (CAFTH), is a comprehensive housing initiative designed to address the diverse needs of our community.
This program incentivizes landlords to rent their units to individuals and families by providing security deposit assistance, first month’s rent assistance, and landlord mitigation (if needed). The primary function of the ALBH Program is to bridge the final gap toward housing.
Eligibility:
Individuals & Families who meet HUD’s Homelessness Definition and are enrolled in Coordinated Entry.
Individuals & Families exiting from CoC-funded housing programs.
Individuals & Families exiting transitional housing.
Features:
Affordable Housing Solutions
ALBH offers a variety of affordable housing options tailored to meet the needs of different income levels.
Supportive Services
CAFTH’s Housing Team can provide housing navigation assistance. If needed, this assistance can be provided in collaboration with the referring Case Manager.
The CAFTH Senior Housing Navigator serves as a resource and point of contact ONLY for Landlord Mitigation (covering damages beyond normal wear and tear & is greater than the security deposit amount)
ALBH Documentation & References
ALBH Overview & Step-By-Step Procedures
For further assistance with the ALBH please contact
Tanisha Joyner
Senior Housing Navigator
tanisha@cafth.org
Landlord & Provider Social Event
CAFTH Landlord & Partner Provider Social Event will be held on a less-than-quarterly basis. The purpose of this event is to facilitate networking and collaboration between our partnered providers and partnered landlords and property owners. In addition to networking, the event will provide opportunities for providers to engage with landlords and property owners through a structured Q&A session. Additionally, there will be opportunities for special guests with expertise in affordable housing to appear, offering valuable insights that could benefit both partnered providers and landlords/property owners.
Housing Huddle
CAFTH Housing Huddle is held quarterly. The goal of the roundtable is to bring together all of our partnered housing providers to discuss affordable housing. Topics can include areas of need, best practices, new opportunities, challenges faced, and collaborative solutions. This forum aims to foster open communication, share valuable insights, and strengthen partnerships, ultimately enhancing our collective efforts to provide affordable housing.
Youth/Family Housing Case Managers Staffing
The CAFTH housing navigator is holding population specific meetings to case conferences and provide support to CoC Housing Case Managers who have clients matched to their programs. All matches are reviewed and discussed, identifying any barriers to housing and sustaining housing inside the housing program. The intention of these meetings is to provide support and technical assistance to housing providers to meet the needs of CES participants to pursue housing sustainability within the CES.