After the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved a one-time grant to Samaritan House for bolstering its ability to serve those in need even during a climate disaster, the board agreed to look into making all of its core service agencies just as resilient.
The Board of Supervisors approved a district discretionary grant of $20,000 to Samaritan House, which operates eight public service locations throughout the county and delivers essential services from food, clothing, medical help and housing to underserved residents.
The grant will be used for the organization’s Resilient Samaritan House, an initiative aimed at ensuring uninterrupted delivery of the essential services provided during major emergencies.
The funds will primarily go toward a large solar generator for kitchen equipment to ensure food services remain viable should the power go out. It will also go toward small charging stations, an evacuation chair for a stairwell, flood lights for client safety and a hot water hand-washing station.
“These investments will also support our role in the community’s broader emergency response system, positioning Samaritan House as a vital partner in the community for resilience efforts,” Jerome Olimpiada, associate director of Coordinated Entry Services for Samaritan House, said.
The one-time grant prompted a conversation from Supervisor Jackie Speier, who felt it would be incumbent on county staff to look at the needs of all the county’s core service agencies.
“If in fact they do not have proper equipment to deal with disaster, then we should be looking at all of them,” Speier said.
The organization is one of eight core service agencies in San Mateo County.
County Executive Mike Callagy said he would look at the resiliency needs across county services and programs and will return to the Board of Supervisors with a more detailed account of what support the organizations need.
A comprehensive list will likely be lengthy and supervisors will need to figure out what they may want to prioritize, Supervisor Ray Mueller said.
“It isn’t a light lift at all,” Mueller said.
Supervisor Noelia Corzo, who sponsored the grant to Samaritan House, agreed that this investment should be practiced and applied across all county agencies. She noted the original ask by Samaritan House was for $75,000, demonstrating the true need of the organization.
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