VISTA — The Vista City Council is planning a senior subsidy program that will provide monthly payments to qualifying older adults in order to prevent homelessness, using $500,000 allocated from the city’s 2024-25 year-end balance.
City leaders plan to begin accepting applications for the subsidy program by July 1. Qualifying applicants would receive $250, $500, $750, or $1,000 per month for up to two years to cover housing costs such as rent and utilities.
Subsidy funds could also be used for employment supports and public benefits applications to increase household income; costs to reduce household expenses; and relocation costs for more affordable housing options, such as a security deposit, first and last month’s rent, moving expenses, utility setup, and family or friend reunification.
The City Council discussed the program’s parameters on Tuesday. City staff initially recommended limiting the program to households with a senior dependent or head-of-household who is 55 or older and makes 80% of the area median income, or AMI, or below.
“The objective of these awards is to help households achieve long-term stability after the subsidy ends, with households paying no more than 60% of gross household income towards rent,” said Homeless Services Program Manager Jonathan Lung.
Council members said they would like to consider restricting it to those 70 years and older, with a disability, who make 30% of the AMI or less. They recommended presenting these parameters to the city’s Senior Commission for input.
Mayor John Franklin shared major concerns that the requirements are too broad, noting that about 31% of the city’s population is over the age of 55. He said many seniors have a fixed income and could become dependent on the subsidy without being able to improve their situation in the long term.
“We’ve got an extremely small number of people that we could help with this amount of money,” Franklin said. “We can’t guarantee that in future years we’re going to be able to continue this program, and so we may create a need or a dependency on the program that we won’t be able to satisfy in future years.”
Franklin suggested allocating the $500,000 to the city’s housing fund for a permanent supportive housing project for seniors, similar to the Santa Fe Senior Village developed with National CORE.
However, Councilmember Corinna Contreras said housing developments take a long time, and the city can help seniors now by offering subsidies.
“The need is now. Unfortunately, the fastest growing demographic experiencing homelessness is seniors,” Contreras said. “I think we need to move forward with this and see how it goes as a pilot.”
After the program’s details are finalized, the city will solicit proposals from organizations interested in administering it.
City staff also originally proposed opening the program to qualifying seniors in unincorporated Vista, noting that if those individuals become homeless, it is the city’s responsibility to provide them with services.
Lung said the County of San Diego has provided senior subsidy programs to unincorporated areas in the past, but those funds have since run out.
Council members said they would like to limit the program just to those within the city boundaries.
“When it comes to administrating $500,000, I really do believe it needs to be within the city’s jurisdiction only,” said Deputy Mayor Katie Melendez.
The county may not have an incentive to restart that program if they think the city will handle residents in these areas, Melendez added.
The subsidy program would also offer stabilization strategies for participants, focusing on finding workable solutions for housing stability, reducing household expenses, increasing household income, navigating more affordable housing, and, if needed, shared housing or family reunification.
