The Housing and Community Development Department (HCDD) recommends Council approval of an Ordinance authorizing a First Amendment to the Agreement between the City of Houston (City) and the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County (The Coalition), providing $1,600,000.00 in Emergency Solutions Grants – CARES Act (ESG-CV) funds for homeless outreach activities. The amendment will also modify existing Community Development Block Grant – CARES Act (CDBG-CV) budget line items to optimize their use for administrative and program functions while prioritizing expenditure of the proposed ESG-CV funding.
The Coalition, in partnership with direct service agencies, coordinates the housing response for The Way Home Continuum of Care. The coordinated and large-scale community response connecting homeless individuals to housing will help to address the urgency of the COVID-19 crisis and the immediate threat to the public health and safety of the unsheltered homeless population. Housing individuals currently living on the streets and in shelters is the best and recommended intervention to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 among this highly vulnerable population.
The Coalition will provide housing assessments to 1,500 individuals contacting the Coalition through the Coordinated Access intake line, and outreach and navigation services to house a minimum of 400 individuals who are residing in encampments or living on the streets, or living in a place not suitable for human habitation located throughout Houston.
|
Category
|
Amount
|
Percentage
|
|
Program Services
|
$1,600,000.00
|
100%
|
|
Program Administration
|
$0.00
|
0%
|
|
Total
|
$1,600,000.00
|
100%
|
This First Amendment provides funding from September 1, 2021 – August 31, 2022. Data on performance indicators has not yet been compiled and compliance monitoring has not yet occurred.
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
This item was reviewed by the Housing and Community Affairs Committee on October 19, 2021.
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Keith W. Bynam, Interim Director