The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) made millions of dollars available in grants to respond to the increasing homeless problem. However, as the first expenditure deadline comes on December 30, applicants and grantees are left to wonder, “What now?”
Cities, counties, and other local public entities have the opportunity to apply to receive funds from a $600 million ‘Homekey’ grant to create interim or permanent long-term housing and protect homeless individuals impacted by COVID.
But once applicants are awarded a grant, they have to move fast as some projects will need to be encumbered by the end of the year. While priority applications were due Aug. 13, the deadline for all applications is on Sep. 29.
So how can you apply and what options are there alternatives to hotel and motel occupancy? CaliforniaCityNews is partnering with Connect Homes to offer a webinar to answer exactly that. The homebuilding company has been at the forefront of this issue since 2011 and offers transitional and permanent low-income housing. They are currently working with the city of Mountain View, who applied for a $12.3 million grant, to create semi-permanent housing to shelter up to 112 homeless people.
“There are 151,278 homeless people in California,” said co-founder Gordon Stott emphasizing the importance of the issue. “Truth is, even without the current pandemic, homelessness is California’s #1 priority.”
The webinar will be held Thursday, September 17 at 11:30 a.m. and will feature:
John Russo, Retired City Manager, Cities of Irvine and Riverside.
Amy Brown, Arc Strategies and former League of California Cities Legislative Advocate
Joe Stockwell, LifeMoves, a non-profit focused on ending homelessness in Silicon Valley
Gordon Stott, Co-Founder of Connect Homes