In CCY's efforts to keep our Members and Youth Advocates up to date with the latest information, we're sharing some information from the California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council.
We hope that you, your families, and your colleagues are staying safe during these challenging times. For any questions about how CCY is doing during the COVID-19 Pandemic, or for any questions about this email, please reach out to CCY's Executive Director, Jevon Wilkes, at[email protected].
The Following is directly from The California Homeless Coordinating and Finance Council
"We hope that you have had the opportunity to read our Guide to Strategic Uses of Key State and Federal Funds to Reduce Homelessness During the COVID-19 Pandemic, released this summer. To help explain and emphasize certain aspects of the Guide, the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council has produced a short 29 minute Strategic Funding Guide Webinar. With assistance from consultants Matthew Doherty and Katharine Gale, and participation from Corrin Buchanan from the Department of Social Services, Megan Kirkeby from Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), and our Deputy Secretary for Homelessness Ali Sutton, this webinar walks through the different elements of the guide, how to use it, and recommendations for grantees and local governments in developing their own spending plans.
We would also like to note the extraordinary work on all levels going into Homekey, the state’s $600 million effort to help local jurisdictions permanently house people experiencing homelessness. Last week, Governor Newsom announced $76 million in the first round of Homekey awards from HCD, to help seven local communities with 10 projects totaling 579 units. Yesterday, it was announced that more than $236 million in the second round of awards will assist 12 jurisdictions with 20 different projects, totaling 1,810 individual units. HCD is currently accepting applications from local communities and funds must be expended by December 30, 2020.
And finally, we want to ensure all partners saw that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced that new Mainstream Vouchers are now available to Public Housing Authorities, and that they are encouraging housing authorities to work with community partners and use these vouchers to support urgent efforts to house people experiencing homelessness to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. HCFC released a letter today which provides additional information on how to apply, and how CoCs and local governments can work with housing authorities to take advantage of this important opportunity!"