Some of the money will go toward a plan to educate Pasadenans about solutions to homelessness.
Pasadena plans to spend $5.71 million in recently awarded grants to address homelessness on a new city staff person, emergency shelters, medical care and permanent supportive housing.
The city, according to city Housing Director William Huang, was recently notified that it has been awarded two state grants and one federal grant to help combat homelessness:
- $720,243 from the state Department of Housing & Community Development,
- $1.43 million from the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council
- $3.56 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
There were 677 homeless people living in Pasadena during the 2018 point-in-time count. More than half were living on the streets.
The largest grant, from HUD, was awarded to the Pasadena Continuum of Care — the local, multi-agency system that aims to address homelessness. It will pay for 13 projects that revolve around coordinated entry — a way to triage and assist those experiencing homelessness — and permanent supportive housing, which are developments that house homeless people long-term alongside case management and other social services.
The largest chunk, $1.21 million, will go toward rental assistance. A Union Station Homeless Services permanent supportive housing program will get $940,997.
The Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council grant will go toward meeting emergency needs, such as motel vouchers, medical care and housing location services.
The city will award the money in a competitive selection process to local service providers. It then will use the remainder of the funds to pay for a consultant who will help develop a community engagement strategy to educate Pasadenans about homelessness and solutions.
The five-year state housing grant will help pay for a new city staffer who will assist in planning activities. The remainder will be allocated through competitive selection to local nonprofits that specialize in homelessness prevention, eviction defense and landlord incentives, according to the city manager’s newsletter.