Opportunity Overview
Round 10 closed / archived. New York’s Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative Round 10, OMH253032, funds permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness who also have qualifying health, behavioral-health, disability, aging, domestic-violence, reentry, or other life challenges. OMH is the lead procurement agency for an interagency statewide initiative.
Extended Deadline and Funding
OMH’s July 29 update supersedes the original deadline printed in the RFP and sets the controlling proposal deadline at September 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM EST. Conditional award notifications are tentatively scheduled for November 3, 2026. Round 10 will fund 1,400 qualifying individuals. Projects may request up to $34,000 annually per qualifying individual in the New York City metro area, including New York City, Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties, and up to $31,000 annually per qualifying individual in the rest of the state.
Round 10 Submission Record
The actual ESSHI application is submitted by email, not through SFS. OMH requires the application, proposal narrative and Application Workbook to be emailed to ESSHI.RFP.2026@omh.ny.gov and received by the deadline. Each distinct, complete project application must be sent in a separate email. SFS registration and active nonprofit prequalification remain mandatory eligibility requirements, and SFS was not the proposal-submission channel for this RFP.
A complete application includes the Application Workbook containing project information and budget, Program Specific Questions Form, Continuum of Care/local-planning support document, OPWDD Regional Office Letter of Support if applicable, Vendor Responsibility Form/Questionnaire, Sexual Harassment Prevention Certification, and Gender-Based Violence and the Workplace Policy Certification. Applicants should retain the sent email, all attachments, timestamp, and any delivery confirmation as the submission record.
Eligible Applicants
The direct applicant must be a qualifying New York nonprofit organization or Tribal Organization with demonstrated experience in supportive housing, homelessness, unstable housing, or services for people with health, mental-health, developmental-disability, substance-use, foster-care, justice-system, or related support needs. OMH’s current Q&A confirms that a nonprofit does not need to operate an existing housing program if it can demonstrate qualifying service and support experience. Eligible applicants may subcontract services, but a subcontractor arrangement does not substitute for the prime applicant’s eligibility and responsibility.
Service and Housing Model
ESSHI funds services and operating costs for permanent supportive housing. Eligible projects must expand or preserve qualifying permanent supportive housing and use a Housing First, low-barrier approach. The initiative can support coordination of primary healthcare, mental-health and substance-use treatment, benefits advocacy, childcare, employment and training, counseling, independent-living supports, and other services appropriate to the target population.
Critical Round 10 Q&A Clarifications
OMH’s official Round 10 Q&A removes several common application-readiness misconceptions. A final property does not have to be identified when the proposal is submitted. If conditionally selected, the awardee has two years to secure the capital financing and property needed for the project before the award expires. OMH also states that there is no minimum or maximum number of units that an individual project application may request, and a separate application is required for each distinct project.
A long-term lease of at least 25 years between the nonprofit ESSHI contractor and a private landlord may be permissible when it is tied to a qualifying housing-development project. However, ESSHI funding must be connected to housing development that creates new qualifying units through new construction, adaptive reuse of nonresidential space, or repurposing vacant units; organizations should not assume that already operational affordable-housing units can simply be converted into ESSHI-funded units.
Capital Financing and Site Readiness
ESSHI is not itself the primary capital-construction source. Applicants should present a credible development and capital-financing strategy, but the current Q&A confirms that a final site is not required at application. Conditional awardees must secure sufficient capital financing, which necessarily includes a property, within two years of the conditional ESSHI award. Failure to secure the required capital commitments and site within the allowed period can cause the conditional award to expire.
Local Need and Partnership Requirements
Applicants must demonstrate the local housing gap using Continuum of Care or other local data and obtain the required local planning support. The RFP also requires notification to applicable local governmental units, and certain populations require additional agency support documentation. Projects should align the housing design, service model, target population, and operating budget with the exact requirements of the current RFP, Q&A, and any later addenda.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 97/100. ESSHI is one of New York’s most significant recurring health-and-housing funding mechanisms because it combines statewide scale, multi-year renewable service support, and explicit integration of housing with healthcare and human services. The latest Q&A materially improves the opportunity for otherwise qualified organizations that have a strong service model and development strategy but have not yet finalized a property.
N9+ Direct Vendor Fit: 20/100. Healthcare coordination is an eligible and important part of supportive housing, but ESSHI is not a general telehealth or clinical-equipment grant. Connected examination technology should only be included where an eligible service provider can demonstrate that it is necessary to the approved support model and allowable within the service and operating budget.
Next Action
Archived-round guidance: Preserve the Round 10 submission materials and eligibility rules for historical reference. The 2026 window is closed; do not send a new application to the Round 10 address. For future ESSHI rounds, confirm the current submission channel and eligibility before applying. Historical Round 10 instructions required applicants to email each distinct, complete application separately to ESSHI.RFP.2026@omh.ny.gov so it is received by September 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM EST. Do not delay a viable proposal solely because a final property has not yet been identified; OMH’s official Q&A confirms that site identification may occur after a conditional award within the two-year capital-financing window.
Official source: New York State Office of Mental Health — ESSHI Round 10.