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Seattle Housing Authority's PorchLight Center Streamlines the Affordable Housing Process When the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) realized that it was taking individuals and families several phone calls and a few visits to city offices to find affordable housing in the tight Seattle market, they took it upon themselves to build a better system. The result: PorchLight - a convenient one-stop location where the Seattle Housing Authority's clients can learn about all available housing opportunities. Created two years ago with a mandate to remove obstacles for those who need housing, PorchLight has quietly set about doing just that.. The Seattle Housing Authority, the largest provider of low income and affordable housing in the Seattle area, owns and operates 6,700 conventional public housing units and nearly 1,000 additional units for seniors and people with disabilities as part of the Seattle Senior Housing Program (SSHP). Grounded in the notion that housing services should be as simple and accessible as "services in a public library," as Director Kathy Roseth puts it, PorchLight's mission statement is "to provide high-quality customer service to households seeking affordable housing in the Seattle metropolitan area." PorchLight now operates as a busy SHA office in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. Under One Roof PorchLight serves as the "front door" of the Seattle Housing Authority, providing a single point of contact for most affordable housing questions. When calling PorchLight, customers can apply for public housing or a Section 8 voucher, or learn about the Seattle Senior Housing Program (SSHP). PorchLight also handles all SHA waiting list applications, interviews for placement in housing, and orientation meetings for new tenants. Landlords can also call PorchLight to learn about qualifying their units for Section 8 tenants During the intake process, knowledgeable staff quickly identifies the customer's level of need and route them to the appropriate resource or assistance provider. PorchLight's housing counselors can call on a variety of resources, including referrals to non-SHA housing and service providers, such as Seattle's Department of Social Services. PorchLight reaches out to these organizations to maintain current information about their services so that if a client needs a service that SHA cannot provide, staff can direct the client to someone who can. Accessibility and Efficiency Through a combination of targeted outreach programs and the open nature of the center itself, PorchLight has been remarkably successful in making SHA's services more accessible to residents throughout the Seattle area. The increased efficiency that PorchLight brings Seattle's public housing authority means that the level of attention necessary for each individual client can be quickly and effectively discerned. Taking a proactive approach, housing counselors reach out to the community and educate people about available services and how these services can be accessed. For example, at a recent meeting at a transitional shelter, a housing counselor not only shared with attendees the services SHA could provide, but also walked them through the application process so they could progress toward moving into permanent housing. This dedication has allowed housing counselors to build a positive relationship with the community. As a result, PorchLight has established itself as a true partner in the search for affordable housing. Because of the high level of interaction and attention PorchLight provides, the center has been very successful at coordinating the proper levels of service families require. One area where this has made a great difference is for families requiring intensive case management - usually through the Shelter Plus Care (SPC) program. Shelter Plus Care case managers identify program participants who are stable and independent enough to no longer warrant the case management Shelter Plus Care provides, but who still need affordable housing. SHA altered its system of wait list preferences to give priority to these Shelter Plus Care participants. In effect, these participants "transition in place" to a regular Housing Choice Voucher, without having to move to a different apartment, and their Shelter Plus Care voucher can be redirected to a new participant more in need of intensive case management. A Better Model Before the implementation of the PorchLight program, the decentralized nature of the Seattle Housing Authority posed a substantial navigational challenge for participants in housing assistance programs - far too many people were falling by the wayside. By simplifying the process to gain access to public housing, more people in need are getting the services they require, and a greater number of people are finding housing that is affordable to them. PorchLight is proving to be a great example of how a public housing authority can more effectively and efficiently meet the needs of local low- and moderate-income households.
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