The Housing and Community Development Department (HCDD) is requesting Council approval of an ordinance authorizing a contract between the City of Houston and Houston Area Women’s Center (HAWC), providing up to $655,180.00 in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery 2017 (CDBG-DR17) funds for the following services:
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Expand 24/7 crisis intervention hotline
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Hospital accompaniment and counseling services
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Emergency shelter services
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Childcare services and after school enrichment programs
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Housing case management for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault; and
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Client transportation services.
HAWC will provide services to women, children, and men who are victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault and residing in the City of Houston.
|
Category
|
Contract Amount
|
Percentage
|
|
Program Administration
|
$78,226.07
|
11.94%
|
|
Program Services
|
$576,953.93
|
88.06%
|
|
Total
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$655,180.00
|
100.0%
|
CDBG-DR17 funds provide approximately 13.72% of the total cost of this activity. HCDD conducted a Notice of Funding Availability Harvey Public Services program for fiscal year 2020, with a one-year renewal option for fiscal year 2021. Houston Area Women’s Center was one of the providers selected. The term of this contract will be April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021. This is their first Disaster Recovery contract.
Pay or Play
The proposed contract requires compliance with the City’s ‘Pay or Play’ ordinance regarding health benefits for employees of City contractors. In this case, the contractor will provide health benefits to eligible employees in compliance with City policy.
Fiscal Note:
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items. This item was reviewed by the Housing and Community Affairs Committee on February 18, 2019.
*Harvey Indirect Tieback: Deeply traumatic experiences such as natural disasters compound impact on the emotional, behavioral, and physical health of survivors, and can impact their sense of safety, security, quality of life, and functioning abilities. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo noted that in 2018, 20% of all homicides in Houston were related to Domestic Violence, and in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, homicides increased by 38%.
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Tom McCasland Director