Eligible projects include the construction of new recovery housing units and expansion of existing recovery housing properties targeting persons in recovery from substance use disorders and/or survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking under the two categories below.
Substance-free housing provided in a non-clinical, family-like environment and abiding by national best practices as outlined by the National Alliance of Recovery Residences (NARR) and the designated Iowa NARR affiliate. Recovery housing assisted under the Fund will be required to attain NARR certification through the Iowa NARR affiliate within one year of project completion and maintain NARR certification throughout the specified long-term retention period.
Sober living housing for survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, who are tangentially impacted by the nation’s opioid epidemic. Applicants under this category must meet National Trafficking Sheltered Alliance essential standards and/or the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Abuse or Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault standards, and/or similarly recognized standards to be specified in the application materials within one year of project completion and maintain those standards throughout the specified long-term retention period.
$2 million per project and per entity.
No applicant may be awarded a combined total of more than $2 million across multiple applications.
$100,000
Construction costs for materials and labor
Land and/or property acquisition
Site development
Engineering and architectural services
Related soft costs specified in the application materials
The ability to obligate awarded program funds for Eligible Activities by no later than December 31, 2024.
Commit that the recovery housing developed under the Fund will achieve the following, as applicable:
Recovery Housing Category 1: NARR certification within one year of project completion and maintain NARR certification throughout the required long-term retention period
or
Recovery Housing Category 2: National Trafficking Sheltered Alliance essential standards, Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Abuse best practice standards, and/or similar recognized standards specified in the application materials within one year of project completion and maintain those standards throughout the specified long-term retention period.
Demonstrate a financial hardship that makes the project infeasible without Iowa Recovery Housing Fund assistance
Provide written documentation of a commitment of matching funds to the proposed project totaling a minimum of 10% of the proposed project development budget.
Demonstrate the ability to finance the continued operations of the sober living recovery housing project and provide on-going service supports to clients living in those housing units.
Awarded project activities must increase the capacity to provide sober living recovery housing by increasing the number of unique Iowans who can be served in such housing units.
Program funds will be disbursed on a reimbursement basis as eligible project costs are incurred.*
*IFA may, but is not required to, disburse a maximum of 50% of grant funds in advance of expenditure if IFA or its contractor has conducted a risk assessment and IFA has determined that the level of risk is low and that it is necessary and appropriate to advance grant funds.
Awards will be announced by the end of 2024 with an initial grant performance period ending June 30, 2026.
Extensions of the grant performance period will be considered on a case-by-case basis due to mitigating factors, including lack of contractor availability.
Funds must be expended by December 31, 2026.
5 years
10 years
15 years
20 years
Applications may be submitted July 29-Oct. 31, 2024 at 4:30 p.m.
For assistance creating an IowaGrants.gov account, please contact their Help Desk at 515-281-5703 or 800-532-1174. You can also submit a Help Desk ticket at https://help.iowa.gov/request_support
Application
Contact the Recovery Housing Fund team.
“Substance Use Disorder” is defined as the clinical term describing a syndrome consisting of a coherent set of signs and symptoms that cause significant distress and/or impairment during the same 12-month period. To qualify as a member of the Recovery Housing Category 1 target population, one or more members of the tenant household must be in recovery from a substance use disorder. For project’s serving one or more single-person households, each single household must be in recovery from a substance use disorder to qualify for occupancy. The American Psychiatric Association diagnoses the severity of substance use disorders as mild, moderate, or severe by identifying the presence of problematic patterns using specified criteria related to the following occurring over a 12-month period: amount, control, time, cravings, obligations, social, activities, hazard, harm, tolerance, and withdrawal.
