San Mateo County invests into homeless grant program

Through the Working Together to End Homelessness Innovation Grant Program, Jensen said the county would support cities, nonprofits or other entities that propose a new way of helping homeless residents engage with resources and access either interim or permanent housing.

To qualify, the proposal would have to be a new approach not yet widely seen established in the county and would need to address one of three areas — street living, vehicle living or economic self-sufficiency.

That could look like either getting someone into safe housing, including into a safe-parking program, or assisting with job readiness, encampment cleanup and prevention or accessing other types of resources needed for stable living.

Grant amounts will vary and cities and other agencies will be encouraged to work collaboratively on proposals. To receive a grant, applicants must also agree to participate in a “community of practice,” which will require them to track and share detailed performance metrics.

“We are looking for bold and collaborative efforts,” board President Don Horsley said in a press release. “We set a goal of ending homelessness and we encourage everyone to contribute to that effort. This grant program is really intended to get people thinking and get people involved in workable, doable solutions.”

An advisory committee helped craft the proposal and will be ultimately responsible for selecting the grantees, Jensen said. The San Mateo Credit Union Community Fund has been selected as the program administrator to dole out the $2 million worth of grants, funded through federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Federal and state dollars have gone a long way toward helping the county combat homelessness. Officials have purchased five hotels in recent years that have been converted to either interim or permanent housing while a modern 260-bed navigation center is currently under construction in Redwood City.

Despite that progress, Jensen noted much more work is needed to help the county achieve its goal of functional zero, an initiative that would see homelessness become rare, brief and never repeated in the county.

The county’s most recent one-day homeless count, conducted this year, found nearly 1,100 residents were living unhoused with 352 living on the streets or in encampments, 616 living in cars, vans or RVs, 102 participating in safe-parking programs and another 22 living in other settings like abandoned buildings.

A number of agencies and cities are working to end the county’s homelessness problems, an issue being felt statewide amid a severe housing shortage. Through the program, supervisors, who backed the proposal unanimously, said they hope the additional funds will assist groups with their ambitious aims.

“We know many of the organizations that serve our unsheltered residents have great ideas but not necessarily the means to put those ideas into action,” Supervisor Warren Slocum said in the press release. “Now, with this grant program, we are challenging those organizations to offer innovative and new approaches.”

Grant applications can be submitted from Wednesday, Sept. 14, through 5 p.m. Oct. 7. An information session will be 2 p.m. Sept. 22, via Zoom. Applicants will be selected by the end of October with grants being distributed beginning mid-November.

Visit smcgov.org/ceo/2022-our-year-working-together-end-homelessness for more information including how to participate in the Zoom information session.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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