In 2018, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation invested in Genesis LA with a grant and program-related investment to expand the universe of affordable and permanent supportive housing opportunities without utilizing any of the existing public development subsidies that often increase the requirements, timeline, and subsequent costs associated with developing new housing. Genesis’ work aligns with the Hilton Foundation’s Chronic Homelessness Initiative’s goal of scaling up permanent supportive housing to meet the community need. This support allows Genesis to have greater flexibility in the design and development of projects to make supportive housing feasible on smaller sites previously deemed unviable for LIHTC development.
While the Foundation continues to support local large-scale permanent supportive housing development, the work with Genesis and its RETHINK Housing model offers an opportunity to leverage new units with resources that wouldn’t otherwise be accessed through the Foundation’s past lending opportunities. Given this unique work, the Foundation engaged Avivar Capital to develop a report examining Genesis’ RETHINK Housing model and how an innovative approach like this one could be scaled and replicated to address the affordable housing and homelessness crisis in other communities.