REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
To:Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From:Jason Simpson, City Manager
Prepared by:Jason Simpson, City Manager
Date:April 9, 2024
Subject:Acceptance of the Street Outreach Grant From Riverside County's Continuum of Care
Recommendation
Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with the County of Riverside Continuum of Care to accept a grant in the amount $205,170 for Street Outreach services.
Background
Homelessness has been a top priority for the City of Lake Elsinore since the creation of our Homeless Task Force in 2017. The City continues to meet monthly to address homeless issues and look for new solutions. Lake Elsinore has made significant strides to assist our most vulnerable residents off the streets while seeking effective methods of reducing our homeless population.
A key piece of our homeless services is street outreach by our non-profit partner Social Work Action Group (SWAG). SWAG has helped the City conduct street outreach, provide housing navigation, and offer case management services to chronic homeless individuals. In addition to street outreach, SWAG has operated The Anchor since it opened in December 2020. The facility provides 15 crisis stabilization housing units with up to 20 beds for chronic homeless individuals, for a duration of up to 90 days.
To date, street outreach services have been funded by a variety of grants including California’s Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP), the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program (HHAP), and an Emergency Solutions Grant – Coronavirus (ESG-CV) from Riverside County’s Continuum of Care (CoC). Since 2019, the City has secured over $6 million toward its Street Outreach Grant
homeless efforts. Staff continues to seek all applicable grant funding available to assist in funding its homeless efforts.
Discussion
In June 2021, the City of Lake Elsinore was awarded $681,506.50 from the ESG-CV grant from the County of Riverside Housing, Homelessness Prevention and Workforce Solutions Continuum of Care Division, to fund street outreach and emergency housing services during the Coronavirus pandemic. Street outreach services and emergency housing services are necessary for the City to continue taking an aggressive and progressive approach to homelessness.
The proposed agreement provides funding to continue SWAG’s street outreach services. Street outreach services include conducting weekly outreach events in the City’s “hot spot” areas, responding to homeless service requests, and assessing and providing assistance to homeless individuals.
Fiscal Impact
The City will receive $205,170 towards the homeless street outreach program. These funds are budgeted in the FY 23/24 Operating Budget.
Attachments
Attachment 1- Agreement