City housing and planning staff told the committee on March 4 that Somerville currently has roughly 68 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units and that several projects in development could substantially increase that stock.

Tom Yogan, an OSPCD director, said more than 85% of existing PSH units are administered by the Somerville Homeless Coalition through scattered-site leases funded by Continuum of Care dollars. He outlined planned or possible additions: Catholic Charities is evaluating redevelopment at the St. Patrick’s shelter site that could replace 30 shelter beds and create 45–50 permanent supportive housing units; the Somerville YMCA project at 101 Highland Avenue could preserve or reconfigure single-room-occupancy units as affordable or supportive housing; and other affordable projects under development could include set‑aside PSH units.

Speakers from the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance described supportive housing as deeply affordable rental housing paired with voluntary wraparound services, typically for people with long-term homelessness coupled with disabilities. Advocates and staff said PSH units stabilize tenants and that the city is working quietly with nonprofit partners and the Affordable Housing Trust to assemble predevelopment and acquisition funding.

Committee members asked about the housing inventory count and how units are coded. Staff said scattered-site units can appear under an organization’s headquarters in the Continuum of Care inventory and that the city is reviewing records to ensure all eligible units are counted. Staff also acknowledged challenges: replacing shelter capacity while a site is redeveloped, identifying temporary locations for shelter beds during construction and locating funding and supportive-service partners.

No formal vote was taken. Committee members encouraged continued coordination between city housing staff, the Affordable Housing Trust, Catholic Charities and nonprofit providers to move projects forward and to identify interim shelter options during redevelopment.