pages: SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard/2012-03-22.pdf, 3
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SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard | 2012-03-22 | 3 | President Wasko shared how difficult the allocation process. All of the service providers requesting funds are providing quality services doing creative work, but there's just not enough money to go around. In the end the decisions were based on keeping Alamedans in need housed, fed, and safe. Numbers served versus dollars requested was also a factor in making decisions. Staff added that the $31,000 funding reduction combined with the need to replace rental assistance dollars no longer available with HPRP funding made it impossible to fund everyone. Member Biggs asked Ms. Young if the previous year's performance was taken into consideration. She said all service providers were achieving or exceeding their program goals, and performance was not an issue. Member Nielsen noted that the priorities and needs listed in the Board's letter to the council on January 24, 2012 were determined anticipating a maximum 10% cut. Since it wasn't until mid-February that the 17% cut was announced, the needs in our letter were a little more comprehensive than they had to be. This may have been one of the reasons why the priority needs used were more focused on preserving the safety-net. Public Comment: Liz Varela - Executive Director, Building Futures with Women and Children, thanked the Board for "really getting" safety-net services and valuing them in the community. Midway Shelter has been in Alameda for 25 years and had the highest housing outcomes in the County this year. Even so, the shelter struggles to maintain its services and keep its doors open. BFWC operates 3 shelters and would need to consider closing one if they lose State funding. Shelters have fixed cost and can only cut to a certain point. She also thanked the Board for seeing the need for Rental Assistance (RA). Providing the casework component for HPRP RA funds, BFWC has developed a real understanding of the value of providing a service that helps keep people from becoming homeless. She explained that with the loss of HPRP funds BFWC will now seek State RA funds to supplement the $20,000 CDBG grant. If the funds are not available, they will work with community partners and staff to develop the cost effective RA program. President Wasko thanked Ms. Varela for the quality services provided by BFWC. Margie Rocha - Executive Director of ECHO Fair Housing said she was thankful for the staff recommendation which kept their funding at the same level as last year, adding she knew we didn't have any more funds to give. She knows that they will continue to carry a large caseload, and noted that some landlords are taking advantage of low-income tenants by forcing them to live in sub-standard housing. These families often fear retaliation if they complain, and ECHO helps by representing them and keeping them from being evicted. She hopes the Board will recommend the staff report. President Wasko thanked Ms. Rocha for the service provided by ECHO, and for being willing to serve 250 persons with $7,290. In a response to questions from member Nielsen, Ms. Rocha explained that funding for Fair Housing (discrimination) services do not come out of the 15% set aside for Public Services. The services are provided without regard to a household's level of income. Their tenant- landlord counseling program has a mediation component that sometimes help keep a family from becoming homeless by resolving a misunderstanding. Other times they achieve they assist by assuring that the client is receiving due process. Ninety-five percent of these families are low-income. | SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard/2012-03-22.pdf |