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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT
DATE: MAY 21, 2024
FROM: HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: HOMELESS HOUSING, ASSISTANCE AND PREVENTION
PROGRAM (HHAP) ROUND 5 MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING WITH COUNTY OF ORANGE, CITY OF
SANTA ANA, AND CITY OF IRVINE
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 20
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: NO
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion, approve the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Orange County Continuum of Care, County of Orange, and Cities of Irvine and Santa Ana for Round 5 of the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program Commitment to Partnership and Participation in a regionally coordinated homelessness action plan and authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the MOU and take all other actions necessary to implement activities to coordinate homelessness housing interventions and supportive services in the region consistent with the guidance issued by the State of California’s Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) under the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP).
DISCUSSION:
The California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) has released five rounds of Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) funding to pursue homelessness reduction activities throughout the state. To date, the City of Anaheim (City) has been allocated $33,665,250 across five HHAP rounds to fund local homelessness programs in the city. HHAP funding is the result of continued advocacy efforts on the part of the Big Cities Mayor’s Coalition, a collaboration of the leaders from the State's 13 largest cities who work together to champion the most crucial issues Californians face. Eligible HHAP-5 entities within Orange County include the Cities of Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine; the Orange County Continuum of Care (OC CoC); and the County of Orange. The City of Anaheim’s HHAP-5 allocation is an estimated $5,800,000.
For the first time, direction from Cal ICH mandated the completion and submission of a joint HHAP application from all eligible entities in the region. The application included an embedded Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan and the need for a Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP) Round 5 Memorandum of Understanding May 21, 2024
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that reflects a commitment by all entities to work towards the numerical goals and objectives outlined in the Plan.
The purpose of the MOU is to ensure greater coordination and alignment in the use of HHAP funds amongst neighboring jurisdictions. OC CoC staff volunteered to draft the MOU and transmitted a first draft of the MOU on April 10th. Following a series of edits by all parties and a review by the Anaheim City Attorney’s Office, the attached MOU is being presented for approval.
While the MOU is a commitment to coordinate regional resources towards the shared goal of reducing homelessness in the community, it does not commit Anaheim-funded resources to the region. The goal of the MOU is to ensure that all HHAP-funded entities communicate, work collaboratively, and leverage, whenever possible, available resources to maximize impact and serve the greatest number of households experiencing homelessness. This commitment aligns with recent efforts to work with and leverage opportunities to address homelessness with the County and other city entities.
The regional HHAP-5 application was submitted to Cal ICH on March 27, 2024. The application held language indicating that the region, including the City of Anaheim, is working on an MOU that reflects the requirements outlined in the HHAP-5 notice of funding availability. The City has been advised that the joint HHAP-5 application has undergone initial review and that Cal ICH is pending receipt of this MOU to consider the application complete.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
Costs associated with the implementation of the activities, funded with HHAP rounds 1- 4, outlined in the MOU are included in the current fiscal year budget. The estimated HHAP 5 grant award has been included in the FY2024-25 budget, pending approval from the City Council in June.
Respectfully submitted,
Grace Ruiz-Stepter
Housing & Community Development Director
Attachment:
1. Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program Round 5 Memorandum of Understanding