Grants to address homelessness
EL CENTRO – The Imperial Valley Continuum of Care Council, through its administrative entity, is in the process of applying for two separate grants totaling about $1.4 million to help address homelessness in the county.
About $1 million of that total has been allocated to the county through the CARES Act, while an additional $322,000 has been allocated by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), which also distributes the CARES Act funds.
Plans call for the grant monies to be made available to local agencies and community-based organizations to support rapid rehousing, emergency shelter, and other services for homeless individuals and those at risk of becoming homeless.
The allocations represent a significant infusion of funds for the council, IVCCC board member and El Centro police Chief Brian Johnson told the El Centro City Council during its meeting Tuesday.
In 2019, the IVCCC was successful in securing about $4.9 million in state Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) funds to support more than a dozen initiatives aimed at addressing homelessness, as well as $627,000 from the California Emergency Solutions and Housing program.
In March, the local Continuum of Care was also able to secure about $528,000 in emergency funds from the state to support homeless services during the pandemic, Johnson said.
The IVCCC’s ongoing success in securing funds to address homeless issues in the Valley is largely owed to the increased level of engagement of its executive board, and its administrative entity, the county Department of Social Services, he said.
“We are doing as best as we can to force everyone in region to do their fair share to help in our homeless problem here in the Valley,” Johnson told the council during a presentation about the IVCCC’s efforts.
The most recent fund allocations come at a time when the county has experienced a 2.6 percent increase in the number of individuals who reported
El Centro police Chief Brian Johnson
experiencing either sheltered or unsheltered homelessness, Johnson said.
The reported increase was determined by the annual Point in Time Count that took place countywide in January. The release of the annual report is pending.
This year, a total of 1,527 individuals reported experiencing either sheltered or unsheltered homelessness, compared to 1,413 in 2019, Johnson said.
“The Slabs are what truly bring our numbers up,” he said.
During Johnson’s presentation, Councilwoman Cheryl Viegas-Walker asked whether the funds could potentially support initiatives carried out by stakeholders whose efforts may prove to be repetitive.
Johnson responded that the IVCCC is in the process of updating its Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), which would allow for a better accounting of the services provided and received.
The local Continuum of
Care’s HMIS is a web-based information technology system that helps collects client-level data related to housing and other services provided to homeless individuals and families and persons at risk of homelessness.
Part of the funding the IVCCC has received in the past has gone toward updating its HMIS, which Continuums of Care are required by law to have in order to receive federal funds.
Funding sources for the county’s HMIS have been scarce, making it challenging to expand its use among local stakeholders, who must be trained and purchase a license to access it, Johnson said.
Viegas-Walker also expressed concerns about how past funds appear to have been allocated, with the bulk going toward supporting initiatives aimed at preventing homelessness and lesser amounts going toward issues associated with chronic homelessness.
Johnson, too, shared in her concerns, and said that such homelessness prevention investments are needed to help stem the growing tide of cases.
He also acknowledged that about 75 percent of those experiencing chronic homelessness, many of whom suffer from mental illness and alcohol or substance use disorders, will typically refuse to access services.
“We are doing as best as we can to force everyone in region to do their fair share to help in our homeless problem here in the Valley.”
“That is the frustrating part,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to comprehend.”
Mayor Pro Tem Jason Jackson asked whether the IVCCC’s plans call for the funding of transitional housing and ancillary services that would help keep those at risk from becoming chronically homeless.
Jackson called into question the county’s recent spending of $196,000 over the span of three months to house about 37 homeless individuals to safeguard them during the pandemic.
“Until we have a plan in this county, we just keep wasting money,” Jackson said.
Johnson responded that the initiative, known as Project Safeguard, did provide participating individuals with some ancillary services, and that he would continue to be a strong advocate for capital improvement projects that would help prevent chronic homelessness.
Johnson also told the council the IVCCC is expected to soon release its strategic plan to address homelessness in the Valley. The proposed plan currently awaits the IVCCC board’s approval.
A measure of the plan’s success would be reflected in a gradual decrease in the number of local homeless individuals over the next few years, Johnson said in response to a question by Mayor Efrain Silva.
He also sought to assured Silva that the plan represents a comprehensive response to the various components underlying homelessness.
“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what we came up with,” Johnson said.