Rapid re-housing helps young adults 18 to 24 move quickly into a home with the lease in their own name, with help paying rent for up to 24 months and a Community Mentor beside them.
Young adults ages 18 to 24 experiencing homelessness in Santa Clara County, with or without a disability.
“Continuum of Care funds may provide supportive services, as set forth in § 578.53, and/or short-term (up to 3 months) and/or medium-term (for 3 to 24 months) tenant-based rental assistance, as set forth in § 578.51(c), as necessary to help a homeless individual or family, with or without disabilities, move as quickly as possible into permanent housing and achieve stability in that housing.” (24 CFR 578.37(a)(1)(ii))
Eligibility and referral
How you get in.
Razing the Bar does not take applications directly. Santa Clara County assesses people experiencing homelessness through one shared system, Coordinated Entry, and refers them to housing programs, including ours. Some residents move into rapid re-housing from our transitional housing.
Get assessed. Complete the County’s Coordinated Entry assessment. Get Help shows you where to start.
Get referred. The County refers people to rapid re-housing from its Community Queue.
Find your place. Your mentor helps you search for a home, apply, and sign a lease in your own name.
The housing
How the home works.
Your lease
The lease is yours.
You sign the lease directly with the landlord or property manager. Rapid re-housing is permanent housing: the home stays yours when the help ends.
Your rent
Help that fits your need.
Razing the Bar pays part or all of your rent to the landlord. How much you pay follows the written standards of Santa Clara County’s Continuum of Care, and the help is reviewed at least once a year and whenever your income changes.
Your search
Help finding a place.
Housing search, applications, deposits, and moving, one step at a time.
“To be permanent housing, the program participant must be the tenant on a lease for a term of at least one year, which is renewable for terms that are a minimum of one month long, and is terminable only for cause.” (24 CFR 578.3)
Under the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, a lease may be shorter than one year, with a one-month minimum.
Rent rules
What HUD sets.
Your share
Set by County standards.
Rapid re-housing projects “must follow the written policies and procedures established by the Continuum of Care for determining … the amount or percentage of rent that each program participant must pay” (24 CFR 578.37(a)(1)(ii)(A)).
How long
Up to 24 months.
Projects must “limit rental assistance to no more than 24 months to a household” (24 CFR 578.37(a)(1)(ii)(C)).
Check-ins
Reviewed every year.
Your need for help is re-evaluated “not less than once annually,” and again when you report a change in income or household (24 CFR 578.37(a)(1)(ii)(E)).
Support
Support around you.
Mentoring
A mentor of your own.
A Community Mentor works with you toward goals you set, and meets with you at least once a month.
Life skills
Keeping a home.
Budgeting, credit, paying rent on time, and working with a landlord.
Navigation
School, work, benefits.
Help with education, employment, benefits, food, and transportation.
Projects must “require the program participant to meet with a case manager not less than once per month to assist the program participant in ensuring long-term housing stability.” (24 CFR 578.37(a)(1)(ii)(F))
The monthly meeting does not apply where the Violence Against Women Act bars making housing depend on accepting services. Mental health care, medical care, and medication are always your choice.
Over time
What to expect.
Rental assistance ends after no more than 24 months. The lease, and the home, stay yours.
As income grows
You take on more rent.
Each review looks at what you need to keep your home without help.
A longer-term option
A Housing Choice Voucher.
We help you apply through the Santa Clara County Housing Authority.
After assistance ends
We are still here.
Support can continue for up to 6 months after rental assistance stops, or up to 12 months for young adults served through the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program.
Projects “may provide supportive services for no longer than 6 months after rental assistance stops.” (24 CFR 578.37(a)(1)(ii)(D))
Your rights
Protections that come with you.
Safety
If you are a survivor.
You cannot be denied assistance, or lose it, “on the basis or as a direct result of the fact that the applicant or tenant is or has been a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking” (24 CFR 5.2005(b)(1)).
Fairness
A review before help ends.
If Razing the Bar decides to end your assistance, you get written reasons, a chance to object to someone who did not make the decision, and a written final decision (24 CFR 578.91(b)).
Accountability
Funded by HUD.
Rapid re-housing is part of Razing the Bar’s HUD Continuum of Care joint transitional housing and rapid re-housing grants, reported to HUD each year. See our financials.
Questions
Straight answers.
Can I apply directly to Razing the Bar?
No. Referrals come through Santa Clara County’s Coordinated Entry System. Get Help shows you how to start.
Do I need a disability to qualify?
No. Rapid re-housing serves people with or without disabilities.
Whose name is on the lease?
Yours. You sign directly with the landlord or property manager.
How much rent will I pay?
Your share follows Santa Clara County’s Continuum of Care written standards. It is set when you start and reviewed at least once a year and whenever your income changes.
Do I have to meet with a mentor?
Yes, at least once a month. Federal rules require it for rapid re-housing, except where the Violence Against Women Act applies.
What happens when assistance ends?
You keep your lease and pay the full rent yourself. Support can continue for up to 6 months, or up to 12 months under the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program.
What if I am leaving an abusive relationship?
You are protected from losing assistance because you are a survivor. Get Help lists 24-hour safety lines.
Next step
Start with Coordinated Entry.
Razing the Bar receives referrals through Santa Clara County’s Coordinated Entry System. Get Help shows you how to reach it today.
RAPID REHOUSING
Your own lease.
Help with
the rent.
Rapid re-housing helps young adults 18 to 24 move quickly into a home with the lease in their own name, with help paying rent for up to 24 months and a Community Mentor beside them.
Who it’s for.
Young adults ages 18 to 24 experiencing homelessness in Santa Clara County, with or without a disability.
How you get in.
Razing the Bar does not take applications directly. Santa Clara County assesses people experiencing homelessness through one shared system, Coordinated Entry, and refers them to housing programs, including ours. Some residents move into rapid re-housing from our transitional housing.
Complete the County’s Coordinated Entry assessment. Get Help shows you where to start.
The County refers people to rapid re-housing from its Community Queue.
Your mentor helps you search for a home, apply, and sign a lease in your own name.
How the home works.
The lease is yours.
You sign the lease directly with the landlord or property manager. Rapid re-housing is permanent housing: the home stays yours when the help ends.
Help that fits your need.
Razing the Bar pays part or all of your rent to the landlord. How much you pay follows the written standards of Santa Clara County’s Continuum of Care, and the help is reviewed at least once a year and whenever your income changes.
Help finding a place.
Housing search, applications, deposits, and moving, one step at a time.
Under the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, a lease may be shorter than one year, with a one-month minimum.
What HUD sets.
Set by County standards.
Rapid re-housing projects “must follow the written policies and procedures established by the Continuum of Care for determining … the amount or percentage of rent that each program participant must pay” (24 CFR 578.37(a)(1)(ii)(A)).
Up to 24 months.
Projects must “limit rental assistance to no more than 24 months to a household” (24 CFR 578.37(a)(1)(ii)(C)).
Reviewed every year.
Your need for help is re-evaluated “not less than once annually,” and again when you report a change in income or household (24 CFR 578.37(a)(1)(ii)(E)).
Support around you.
A mentor of your own.
A Community Mentor works with you toward goals you set, and meets with you at least once a month.
Keeping a home.
Budgeting, credit, paying rent on time, and working with a landlord.
School, work, benefits.
Help with education, employment, benefits, food, and transportation.
The monthly meeting does not apply where the Violence Against Women Act bars making housing depend on accepting services. Mental health care, medical care, and medication are always your choice.
What to expect.
Rental assistance ends after no more than 24 months. The lease, and the home, stay yours.
You take on more rent.
Each review looks at what you need to keep your home without help.
A Housing Choice Voucher.
We help you apply through the Santa Clara County Housing Authority.
We are still here.
Support can continue for up to 6 months after rental assistance stops, or up to 12 months for young adults served through the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program.
Protections that
come with you.
If you are a survivor.
You cannot be denied assistance, or lose it, “on the basis or as a direct result of the fact that the applicant or tenant is or has been a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking” (24 CFR 5.2005(b)(1)).
A review before help ends.
If Razing the Bar decides to end your assistance, you get written reasons, a chance to object to someone who did not make the decision, and a written final decision (24 CFR 578.91(b)).
Funded by HUD.
Rapid re-housing is part of Razing the Bar’s HUD Continuum of Care joint transitional housing and rapid re-housing grants, reported to HUD each year. See our financials.
Straight answers.
Can I apply directly to Razing the Bar?
No. Referrals come through Santa Clara County’s Coordinated Entry System. Get Help shows you how to start.
Do I need a disability to qualify?
No. Rapid re-housing serves people with or without disabilities.
Whose name is on the lease?
Yours. You sign directly with the landlord or property manager.
How much rent will I pay?
Your share follows Santa Clara County’s Continuum of Care written standards. It is set when you start and reviewed at least once a year and whenever your income changes.
Do I have to meet with a mentor?
Yes, at least once a month. Federal rules require it for rapid re-housing, except where the Violence Against Women Act applies.
What happens when assistance ends?
You keep your lease and pay the full rent yourself. Support can continue for up to 6 months, or up to 12 months under the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program.
What if I am leaving an abusive relationship?
You are protected from losing assistance because you are a survivor. Get Help lists 24-hour safety lines.
Start with
Coordinated Entry.
Razing the Bar receives referrals through Santa Clara County’s Coordinated Entry System. Get Help shows you how to reach it today.
References
Continuum of Care Program, 24 C.F.R. § 578.3 (2026). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/section-578.3
Continuum of Care Program, 24 C.F.R. § 578.37 (2026). https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/24/578.37
Continuum of Care Program, 24 C.F.R. § 578.91 (2026). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/section-578.91
Protection for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, 24 C.F.R. § 5.2005 (2026). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/section-5.2005