The Provision of Housing Opportunities and CHOICE

Triple C’s housing portfolio spans across 5 counties and offers a wide variety of choices in shared housing (unrelated individuals occupying a residence with single rooms and some with bathrooms, all shared common spaces), individual apartments, multifamily residences and scattered site apartment rentals.

Our housing portfolio previews our sites and locations.  For more information, please click here.

Triple C Housing, Inc. and The National Housing Trust Fund Program

Triple C Housing, Inc. (Triple C) is a highly recognized supportive services provider and community housing development organization (CHDO) operating in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties.  Triple C supports over 240+ households serving vulnerable individuals and families impacted by a disability, those formerly homeless or at risk, survivors of domestic violence and veterans.   For over 41 years, Triple C has been providing exceptional individualized care and developing affordable supportive housing.

The National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) is administered by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Division of Housing and Community Resources and is exclusively targeted to help build, preserve, rehabilitate, and operate housing affordable to people with the lowest incomes. In 2016, the first $174 million in HTF dollars were allocated to states. To date, the states have received over $1.2 billion in HTF funds. The HTF is the only federal housing program exclusively focused on providing states with resources targeted to serve households with the clearest, most acute housing needs.

The HTF is the most highly targeted federal rental housing capital and homeownership program. By law, at least 75% of HTF dollars used to support rental housing must serve extremely low income (ELI) households earning no more than 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI) or the federal poverty limit. All HTF dollars must benefit households with very low incomes earning no more than 50% of AMI. In comparison, most other federal housing programs can serve families up to 80% of AMI.

The NHTF provides both capital subsidy and operating subsidy to new or renovated 1-4 unit properties which will provide permanent supportive housing to individuals and families which meet one of the nine (9) Special Needs categories

Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Triple C has been approved for 5 projects in Middlesex and Ocean Counties totaling 10 units in 6 properties.  These projects have allowed Triple C to house two (2) individuals and  8 families (with 33 total members) who were previously homeless, victims of domestic violence or where the head of household has a diagnosed mental illness.    The over $3,850,000 in capital funding has allowed Triple C to leverage nearly $750,000 in private financing.

Given that permanent housing in one of the leading Social Determinants of Health, these properties also provide:

Neighborhood and Built Environment:

• Consumers are placed in safe, healthy neighborhoods, free from high levels of noise, crime, and violence
• Access to safe air and water
• Easy access to transportation, quality food, and healthcare; preventing health issues such as diabetes, depression, anxiety, heart disease, and obesity
• Freedom from environmental pollutants and toxins such as lead construction

Healthcare Access and Quality:

• All households are located with easy access to healthcare providers
• Private units allow consumers to avoid the spread of illnesses such as Covid, and to quarantine effectively

Social and Community Context:

• Ability to live without discrimination in the form of racism and other prejudices, economic disparity, and unsafe neighborhoods
• Opportunities for employment and involvement in the community
• Social services in the form of support, counseling, and aid in the event of illness or quarantine

Education Access and Quality:

• Households are located in neighborhoods with quality school systems, and easy access to transportation or close proximity to schools
• Students can easily attend classes virtually in a quiet place with sufficient internet access, which is often not possible in an environment such as a shelter or shared housing.
• Children can avoid the stigma and hygiene issues that can arise without stable housing

Economic Stability:

• Opportunities for employment within the community, and easily accessible transportation for commuting
• Quality appliances and well-maintained facilities ensure that consumers are able to cook, bathe, and sleep without issue or costly repairs.
• Housing vouchers and quality school systems allow families the opportunity to build savings and gain career skills, breaking the cycle of poverty that poor education and debt can perpetuate.

GOING FORWARD

For agencies who mainly focus on individuals with special needs, the NHTF is the best of all worlds:

• Service individuals and households with special needs earning under 30% AMI
• Providing significant capital funding to acquire and renovate 1-4 unit properties
• Provide Project Based HUD Housing Choice Vouchers to ensure sufficient operating support

However, it is very difficult to find single family or multi-family properties that meet the other criteria of the NHTF.  The for-sale market in New Jersey has been going through some dramatic increases in the last 18 months.   When you couple the willingness of purchasers to pay significantly over list price with the limited number of small, multi-family homes with 1 and 2 bedrooms, opportunities for continued participation in the NHTF Program are virtually non-existent. 

Triple C is recommending that the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs consider making some minor changes that would greatly enhance the ability of nonprofit housing and service agencies to access the NHTF Program, specifically:

• Allowing 1BR condominiums to be included under the NHTF. Although we understand some of the NJDCA concerns that excluded condominiums, we believe that there are sufficient valid reasons to allow them. The most telling point for including 1 BR condos under the NHTF is that the 2021 Point In Time Survey indicates that 85% of all homeless in NJ are single persons.   Since the NHTF is focused solely on Special Needs Individuals and Households, 1 BR units are what is required to house these individuals
• Increase the developer fee from 5% to 8% of total development costs to bring the NHTF in line with NJDCA AHTF and HOME Programs.
• Raise the maximum grant limit from $1M to the maximum of the number of units times the per unit capital subsidy. For example, a 1 BR unit has a maximum subsidy of $350,000 but a project with four (4) 1 BR units currently would only be eligible for $1M.   By changing the grant maximum, the project would be eligible to receive $1.4M which would allow for the purchase of better properties or increased upgrades to the property