12/02/2025 AFFORDABLE HOUSING Minutes (2)

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Some people show up in crisis or have a hardship and in need of immediate housing. Part of this process is educating people and getting their names on waitlists sooner, so when they are older they will be eligible. This is not a quick solution; some people spend years on waiting I i sts. The need for elderly housing is large. Homeyer Village is senior housing and handicap, that waitlist is 5,000 people long. A unit will become available, and there is a list of 50 people to vet for that one unit. Homelessness takes priority along with veteran status and children. It was asked how many veterans were homeless, and Ms. Conn will pull a list of that data. It was noted that an affordable market rate unit could be filled by someone with a voucher. The more children involved, the higher the voucher. The landlord would have to accept the voucher, most do. HUD sets the fair market rate for each community, and those fair market rents are the maximum a voucher could pay. You tell the property owner the maximum rent you can afford to pay with your voucher, and they can accept or decline. Within the last two years those standards have changed. Previously, those maximum rents could be requested in a broader geographical area such as all of Cape Cod. Now those are set according to zip code. If there is a problem with the tenant they go through the landlord. They have the authority to remove someone from the program if they are not compliant. A voucher for a one bedroom unit in Mashpee is $1,700 right now. For a family of one person, the income requirements are below $74,800. This Housing Authority pays out $1.4 Million a year on subsidies for 79 vouchers. The tenant pays a portion, specifically 30% of their income, towards their rent. They have good working relationships with all their landlords. They have their vetting process of applicants. They do look at rental history. Ms. Conn has heard industry horror stories but has not experienced that here. She has been here since 2021, and prior to coming to Mashpee she worked with the Falmouth Housing Authority for 17 years. Mr. Sparkes asked if there was anything this Committee could be doing to help them. They did an education series at the library, and she would like to partner together for a future presentation. The Falmouth Housing Trust is a developer, Falmouth Housing Cooperation, Falmouth Housing Authority, and Mass Housing Partnership sat on the panel, along with participants from smaller housing partners within the community. The audience had landlords, people looking for housing, developers, and retail businesses who have employees in need of housing. Following the presentation was a question-and-answer session. 5