Affordable Rental Housing

A few key facts:

In CHT's 1,500 apartments, 675 households (47%) are housed with Section 8 rent assistance.

325 people or households with special needs are housed either in a property with services (Howard Center, Spectrum Youth Services, etc) or in general CHT housing often with casework support from partner agencies or CHT's own social workers.

In our Burlington portfolio of over 500 apartments, 70% of the households have incomes at or below 30% of the area median income – or approximately $22,500 for a family of four. The market is completely inaccessible to these households. CHT's safe decent and affordable apartments protect them from the risks of overcrowding and homelessness.

A few examples of how CHT has been instrumental in providing stable rental housing for people in need

(names have been changed to protect privacy):

John is a refugee, mentally ill and was living on the street. He moved out of an apartment because he lost his job and could no longer afford it. He was sleeping in the parks until the Safe Harbor clinic staff helped him move into our Single Room Occupancy building at 106 South Union Street. He has since stabilized, has begun to receive regular disability payments, and has moved into an apartment in Burlington's Old North End.

Paul is HIV positive and was living in a small rural town in a temporary home. He has since moved to a CHT apartment with subsidized rent for HIV affected households, and is very happy to have a permanent home close to health care services.

Matt moved into to his own apartment, having honed his independent living skills at one of our Howard Center staffed Single Room Occupancy homes in Burlington. He now rents an apartment in the Old North End.

We recently rented a room to Carrie, who had been in transition at the Branches program run by Howard Center and owned by CHT. Once she successfully completed the Branches program, we were able to offer her permanent housing at the Sarah Cole House, a home for formerly homeless women, where she is thriving.