Santa Cruz Awarded $3.3M In Grants To Help Homeless Residents

From Santa Cruz County: The County of Santa Cruz is pleased to announce $3.3 million in continuing and new State and federal grants to help house homeless individuals and families.

The first set of grants – 2017 Continuum of Care awards totaling more than $2.6 million and administered by the Homeless Action Partnership – includes U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development (HUD) funding for 12 ongoing projects to help find housing and shelter for local homeless persons. The
award also includes funding for new projects: New Beginnings Permanent Supportive Housing, Page Smith Joint Transitional Housing and Rapid Rehousing, and an expansion of the new First Step Scattered Site Rapid Rehousing project.

Another $672,000 in Emergency Solutions Grants funds will benefit homeless persons through the Homeless Services Center and Families in Transition, providing rapid rehousing and emergency shelter services to assist homeless persons and those at imminent risk of becoming homeless. Provided by HUD and administered by the State, Emergency Solutions Grants are a key source of funds to provide housing and assistance to the local homeless population.

"For families and individuals who recently lost housing or who are at risk of losing housing, rapid rehousing is vital for preventing long-term homelessness," Santa Cruz County Homeless Services Coordinator Rayne Marr said. "Rapid rehousing provides short-term rental assistance and services, is less expensive than other
interventions, and those who receive it are typically homeless for shorter periods of time. These grants for rapid rehousing and emergency shelter for families are critical for helping to address our local homelessness crisis."

The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation
caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness.

The Emergency Solutions Grant program provides funds for a variety of activities to address homelessness as authorized under the federal Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009 and State program requirements. The California Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) administers the ESG program.

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