Title
Recommended Allocations for CARES Act Funding (CDBG-CV3) and Reprogramming of Entitlement funds
Body
To: Honorable President Christine Chilcott and Members of the Social Service Human Relations Board
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The pandemic caused by the coronavirus continues to impact Alamedan’s physical, mental and financial health. Staff proposes to amend both the FY 2019-20 and the current FY 2020-21 Action Plans in order to provide food and shelter to families and individuals who are vulnerable and in crisis as a result of the coronavirus. To fund the proposed activities, staff has proposed recommendations to:
1) Accept and allocate the recently awarded CDBG funds from the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and
2) Reprogram CDBG entitlement funds for new activities, including the purchase of Community Cabins.
BACKGROUND
The City of Alameda is an entitlement recipient of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Each year, the City receives an allocation of approximately $1 million of CDBG funding. CDBG funds can be used to finance programs and activities that benefit low- and moderate-income households, and to help prevent or eliminate blight. To receive CDBG funding, the City must submit to HUD an annual Action Plan detailing the programs and activities that address the needs identified in the City’s approved Five-Year Consolidated Plan. The Action Plan is approved by the City Council and includes programs, activities, and the associated funding amounts for the fiscal year. A public hearing is required for any amendment to the annual Action Plan if the City cancels an activity, adds an activity, or substantially changes the purpose, scope, location, or beneficiaries of an activity.
As a result of the continuing global COVID-19 health pandemic, the President of the United States signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law. HUD awarded $683,116 CDBG-CV (CV1) funds. Those funds were allocated to: Emergency Food Distribution, Emergency Rent Relief, and Emergency Shelter. In September 2020, HUD announced that the City of Alameda would receive an additional allocation of $597,112 CDBG-CV (CV3) funds. The proposed uses of the CV3 funds as well as of the available entitlement funds will be described in the Discussion section.
DISCUSSION
Due to COVID-19 and the unprecedented orders and directives from federal, state, and local authorities to practice socially distancing measures, which include self-isolation and self-quarantine, low-income households in the City of Alameda have been significantly impacted through loss of income and/or increased expenses. In addition, shelters who offered temporary respite to unhoused Alamedans have been impacted by social distancing requirements. To meet the requirements of reducing the number of people in a shelter and also allowing for six feet of separation, shelters have had to reduce capacity, identify overflow locations, and hire additional staff to service the new locations.
To address the new challenges presented by the pandemic, staff proposes to amend the FY 2019-20 Action Plan and FY 2020-21 Action Plan to allocate CDBG CV3 and entitlement funding to ensure the continued provision of food and shelter to families and individuals who are vulnerable and in crisis. The recommended programs are summarized in the table below:
|
Source |
Program |
Proposed Administrator |
Recommended Allocation |
|
CV3 |
Safe Parking Services |
Village of Love |
$165,592 |
|
CV3 |
Day Center Operations |
Village of Love |
$246,520 |
|
CV3 |
Emergency Rent Relief* |
Building Futures |
$130,000 |
|
CV3 |
Emergency Food Distribution |
Alameda Food Bank |
$30,000 |
|
CV3 |
Emergency Case Management* |
Building Futures |
$25,000 |
|
Total CV3 funds recommended |
$597,112 |
|
FY 20-21 |
Community Cabins |
TBD |
$200,000 |
|
Total CDBG entitlement funds recommended |
$200,000 |
* These programs were approved and included in the FY 2020-21 Action Plan. Staff has proposed that these allocations now be removed from the Action Plan and be paid for with CV3 funding instead.
Safe Parking Services
Due to capacity limitations at shelters as a result of COVID-19, the needs of Alameda’s unhoused population continues to grow. The goal of the Safe Parking Program is to provide individuals experiencing homelessness, who are living in their cars and vans, a place to legally park their vehicles in a safe, secure, sanitary and welcoming environment. Overnight parking hours for the Safe Parking Program lot are Monday through Friday from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Individuals wishing to park their car or van in the Safe Parking Program lot are required to adhere to a code of conduct.
Safe Parking is staffed by Village of Love on a pilot basis through December 30, 2020. The CV3 funds would allow the City to continue offering these services through June 30, 2021. In addition, approximately $15,592 will be made available for continued outreach and transportation services. If approved, this program will be funded with CV3 funds instead of the entitlement funds that were proposed and approved at the June 16, 2020 City Council meeting.
Day Center Operations
Due to capacity limitations at shelters as a result of COVID-19, the needs of Alameda’s unhoused population continues to grow. The goal of the Day Center is to provide a safe, sanitary, secure and welcoming place for homeless individuals to relax, get information, connect to services, and be supported by staff and peers. The Day Center may offer meals, showers, laundry, computers, phones charging, Wi-Fi, and access to health care and social services.
The Day Center is staffed by Village of Love on a pilot basis through December 30, 2020. The CV3 funds would allow the City to continue offering these services through June 30, 2021. In addition, approximately $86,520 will be made available to continue offering extended hours. If approved, this program will be funded with CV3 funds instead of the entitlement funds that were proposed and approved at the June 16, 2020 City Council meeting.
Emergency Rent Relief
On June 2, 2020, the City Council allocated $583,116 of CV1 funds to establish a COVID-19 Emergency Rent Relief Program. In anticipation of additional need for rent relief, City Council allocated an additional $130,000 of CDBG Entitlement funds. Staff now proposes that the program be funded by CV3 instead of the entitlement funds that were proposed and approved at the June 16, 2020 City Council meeting.
To date, the Program has launched and received approximately 315 pre-applications. The City has contracted with Building Futures with Women and Children (BFWC) to administer the Emergency Rent Relief program. Building Futures has been processing applications for rent relief from households whose rent was in arrears between March and September of 2020. Staff anticipates that a new round of applications will be made available to the public later this year so that individuals who have been recently impacted by COVID-19 will have an opportunity to apply for rental assistance.
Emergency Food Distribution
On September 30, 2020, Cindy Houts reported that the Alameda Food Bank continues to respond to an almost tenfold increase in demand, serving 7,500 families per month compared to 800 per month prior to the start of the pandemic. Thirty thousand dollars will allow the Food Bank to purchase approximately two months of fresh produce to meet the increased demand due to COVID-19.
The proposed allocation from the CARES Act will be in addition to emergency food distribution funds that have been allocated through the FY 2019-20 and the FY 2020-21 Action Plans.
Emergency Case Management
Building Futures offers a comprehensive, collaborative, and person-centered approach to support Alameda's most chronically homeless individuals with complex and co-occurring medical and psychosocial needs. Due to capacity limitations at shelters as a result of COVID-19, Building Futures has added staff capacity to expand these offerings outside of Midway Shelter.
While City Council allocated $25,000 of CDBG Entitlement funds at the June 16, 2020 City Council meeting, staff now proposes that the program be funded by CV3 instead of the entitlement funds that were proposed and approved at the June 16, 2020 City Council meeting.
Community Cabins
The City has implemented several programs and initiatives that collectively assist unhoused Alamedans with access to food, shelter and services. While the City offers the Safe Shelter Program to allow elderly and medically-compromised individuals at-risk for COVID-19 to shelter in place during the pandemic by using four FEMA trailers that were provided by the State of California, Community Cabins have been proposed to further the goal of housing the unhoused.
The City adheres to the Housing First model. Housing First is a homeless assistance approach that prioritizes providing housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life. This approach is guided by the belief that people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before attending to anything less critical, such as getting a job, budgeting properly, or attending to substance use issues. Additionally, Housing First is based on the theory that client choice is valuable in housing selection and supportive service participation, and that exercising that choice is likely to make a client more successful in remaining housed and improving their life.
The proposed $200,000 allocation from FY 2020-21 entitlement funds will enable the City to purchase 12-15 cabins.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the funding levels shown in the table in the previous section.
By,
Lisa Fitts, Community Development Program Manager