The Housing and Community Development (HCD) Department recommends Council approval of an Ordinance authorizing a Second Amendment to the Agreement between the City of Houston (City) and the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County (Coalition) to extend the term and allocate an additional $1,262,229.00 of Community Development Block Grant – CARES Act (CDBG-CV) funds to provide expanded outreach services to recruit 600 new housing units, retain 700 existing housing units housing eligible households, and provide a minimum of 150 emergency assistance payments to secure housing units for households being placed in permanent housing.
Due to pervasive, underlying health conditions and a lack of access to adequate facilities, people experiencing homelessness are especially susceptible to COVID-19 and are at higher risk of experiencing severe symptoms. Per guidance from the Center of Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), it is imperative during the current pandemic to move individuals experiencing homelessness off streets. In response, the City partnered with Harris County and the Coalition to launch the Community COVID Housing Program (CCHP).
The Landlord Outreach Team will focus on building and maintaining positive relationships with area landlords to ensure there is an adequate number of housing units available, through recruitment of new landlords/properties or retention of current system participants, for households placed into permanent housing as part of the CCHP Phase 2. Outreach services activities currently funded with Emergency Solutions Grant – CARES Act (ESG-CV) and CDBG-CV will continue to be provided.
|
Category
|
ESG-CV Amount
|
CDBG-CV Amount
|
Additional CDBG-CV Amount
|
Total
(All Sources)
|
Percent
|
|
Program
|
$1,600,000.00
|
$336,733.00
|
$1,147,481.00
|
$3,084,214.00
|
90.3%
|
|
Administrative
|
$0.00
|
$215,192.00
|
$114,748.00
|
$329,940.00
|
9.7%
|
|
Total
|
$1,600,000.00
|
$551,925.00
|
$1,262,229.00
|
$3,414,154.00
|
100.0%
|
The original Agreement term was September 1, 2021, to August 31, 2022. The term was extended through an administrative extension to September 30, 2022. The Second Amendment will extend the term to September 30, 2023.
As of June 2022, the Coalition had expended 71% of the ESG-CV and 29% of the CDBG-CV allocations for outreach services. The agency provided 1,616 housing assessments exceeding the goal of 1,500 and exceeded the goal of providing outreach to 400 households by serving 770. There were no findings, but two concerns were noted during the most recent annual compliance monitoring. The Coalition began receiving funding from the City in 2012.
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
This item was reviewed by the Housing and Community Affairs Committee on August 16, 2022.
____________________________________________
Keith W. Bynam, Director