SUBJECT
Title
2024 SEVERE WINTER STORMS: LOCAL COUNTY-WIDE EMERGENCY REVIEW AND RATIFICATION; END THE EMERGENCY TEMPORARY LODGING PROGRAM, ESTABLISH APPROPRIATIONS FROM THE GENERAL FUND RESERVE TO ASSIST TRANSITION TO PERMANENT HOUSING AND/OR ALLOCATE GRANT FUNDING TO REGIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITIES (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
On January 24, 2024 (8), the Board of Supervisors (Board) ratified the January 22, 2024, Proclamation of Local Emergency (Proclamation) issued by the Interim Chief Administrative Officer, serving as the County of San Diego’s (County) Director of Emergency Services. The Proclamation was issued as a result of conditions of extreme peril to persons and property from a severe atmospheric river that produced widespread flooding, mudslides, erosion, and storm debris throughout the County. As a result, the County experienced numerous road closures and severe damage to both public and private infrastructure.
The Proclamation was issued pursuant to San Diego County Code of Regulatory Ordinances sections 31.101 et seq. and California Government Code Section 8630. In response to the County’s request for assistance with recovery efforts, the Governor proclaimed a State of Emergency in San Diego County on January 23, 2024. Government Code Section 8630(b) requires that the Board ratify Proclamations of Local Emergency within seven days of being issued. Government Code section 8630(c) requires local governing bodies to review the need for continuing the local emergency at least once every 60 days until the local emergency is terminated.
Historically, during a disaster response the County’s Office of Emergency Services has partnered with the American Red Cross to provide congregate shelter(s) for impacted individuals. The Red Cross has numerous agreements with school districts and community centers to utilize facilities for the purpose of disaster sheltering. In the case of the January 2024 flooding, to best care for residents impacted by the flooding, the County endeavored something never done before, and which has only been tried a handful of times on a significantly smaller scale in California, by sheltering disaster survivors in hotel rooms. While several hotels were utilized during COVID due to the public health emergency, this disaster response included sheltering more than 2,000 residents in as many as 68 hotels which brought both logistical and communication challenges that were new to emergency management and disaster recovery in the region.
Congregate shelters allow food, mental health, animal welfare and case management to be delivered at one or two locations. Traditionally, the American Red Cross has provided for meals at congregate shelters. With flood survivors in 68 different hotels, food delivery was offered by the County of San Diego in new ways during this response to facilitate delivery to 68 hotels.
New in the January 2024 flooding was the County solely assuming the responsibility for care and shelter for not just unincorporated residents but city residents as well, as directed by the Board. The implementation of the Board direction occurred through the work of County emergency managers and disaster service workers in partnership with contracted staff. In its role as the Operational Area Coordinator, the County acts as the coordinating entity for disaster planning, mitigation, response and recovery. In this disaster, the County acted as the sole operational lead in carrying out emergency temporary lodging and feeding for residents displaced by the storm and allocated $19.6 million to fund relief efforts.
The County’s Emergency Temporary Lodging (ETL) program was designed to provide critical emergency sheltering while ensuring a timely transition out of the program when FEMA Individual Assistance funds become available to households and/or to provide housing authorities with some time to identify alternative housing solutions for the longer term needs of their residents. The ETL Program launched on February 12, 2024, with an original $10 million allocation by the Board. On March 8, 2024, the County entered into a first of its kind agreement with a local community-based organization to provide food services for individuals in the County’s ETL Program. On March 12, 2024 (3), the Board adopted a resolution making findings of an emergency for appropriation of the General Fund Reserve for the emergency, approved an additional $6.6 million to extend the ETL Program through May 11, 2024, for eligible residents and added $3 million to provide food services in support of impacted residents in the ETL Program. This allocation of funds for the provision of food services is the first time the County has ever provided direct meal delivery for participants in a sustained recovery response. On March 21, 2024, the County also contracted with Uber Eats to provide access to prepared meals, grocery options, and accommodations for dietary and religious needs for residents in the ETL program. As of April 19, 2024, there were 649 households, consisting of 1,946 individuals, active in the ETL program.
This is a request to find that a review of the local emergency has been conducted and that the local emergency will remain in effect at this time. In addition, the Board is being asked to approve an end to the ETL and feeding programs as of May 11, 2024, and provide additional appropriations and contract authority for Housing and Community Development Services to provide transitional support for ETL households who are in the San Diego County Housing Authority’s jurisdiction. Today’s actions also request policy direction for authorizing financial support to local housing authorities to assist in the successful transition of their residents from the County’s ETL program.
RECOMMENDATION(S)
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
1. Find that there is a need to continue the local emergency and that the local emergency shall continue subject to review requirements until terminated pursuant to Government Code section 8630(d).
2. Take the following actions:
a. Direct the Interim Chief Administrative Officer to end the Emergency Temporary Lodging (ETL) Program and feeding program on May 11, 2024. Continue to refer households to San Diego Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) case management and local housing authorities for help with maximizing FEMA Individual Assistance programs and other mid- and long-term resources following the end of the County’s ETL Program.
b. Establish appropriations of $500,000 in the Housing and Community Development Services in Health and Human Services Agency, Services & Supplies, from the General Fund Reserve, to provide financial assistance to residents of the San Diego County Housing Authority jurisdiction impacted by the flood event that are transitioning out of ETL into permanent housing. (4 VOTES)
c. Authorize the Director, Department of Purchasing and Contracting to amend existing County contracts, take all necessary actions, and support Housing and Community Development Services with administering appropriated funding on behalf of the San Diego County Housing Authority.
d. Pursuant to Government Code section 26227, find that the provision of financial assistance to residents of the San Diego County Housing Authority jurisdiction impacted by the flood event that are transitioning out of ETL and into the permanent housing is necessary to meet the social needs of the population of the County.
3. Provide direction for supporting local housing authorities by establishing appropriations of $4.6 million in the Office of Emergency Services, Services & Supplies, from the General Fund Reserve, to provide funding to the San Diego Housing Commission, National City Housing Authority, and City of Oceanside Housing Authority. Funding to the housing authorities would provide financial assistance to households transitioning out of ETL into permanent housing for residents within their respective housing authority jurisdiction and would require a minimum dollar-for-dollar match from those jurisdictions that accept the funding. (4 VOTES)
a. Pursuant to Government Code section 26227, find that providing funding to the San Diego Housing Commission, National City Housing Authority, and City of Oceanside Housing Authority for the provision of financial assistance to households transitioning out of ETL and into permanent housing is necessary to meet the social needs of the population of the region.
b. Pursuant to Government Code section 26227, authorize the Interim Chief Administrative Officer, or designee, to execute agreements with the San Diego Housing Commission, National City Housing Authority, and City of Oceanside Housing Authority to provide financial assistance to households transitioning out of ETL into permanent housing for residents within their housing authority jurisdictions.
If the Board selects any of options 2 or 3:
4. Reallocate the balance of unused 60-day feeding and ETL program funds to offset a portion of the estimated financial impact from the January flood recovery efforts and direct the balance be applied to today’s actions.
EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The majority of individuals/households displaced as a result of the January 22, 2024, flood resided in the City of San Diego, City of National City, the unincorporated area of Spring Valley, and from several other cities. These areas are home to some of the county’s most under resourced communities. Recent data from the American Community Survey states that nearly 30% of National City households’ annual income is less than $35,000. In San Diego, 17% of households’ annual income is less than $35,000. In Spring Valley, 11.9% of households’ annual incomes is less than $35,000. Additionally, more than 50% of individuals in the affected areas identify as being of an ethnic or racial minority. Often lacking resource lifelines, many of the displaced individuals or households require assistance to meet critical health and safety needs.
SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The proposed action contributes to the County of San Diego’s Sustainability Goals by efficiently serving and reinforcing healthy communities, responding to natural disaster related emergencies, remediating environmental harms, and promoting safe governmental practices. This action also assists with ensuring the capability to respond and recover to immediate needs for individuals, families, and the region.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for this request are not included in the Fiscal Year 2023-24 Operational Plan for the Office of Emergency Services and in HHSA - Housing and Community Development Services. If approved, this request could result in one-time costs of up to $5,100,000 to continue to fund transitional services to the San Diego County Housing Authority and other housing authorities, if directed by the Board of Supervisors (Board). The exact amount is specific to the actions taken by the Board and any unspent funds that were previously allocated. The funding source is the General Fund Reserve, which is currently below the Board’s policy directed minimum balance. In accordance with the San Diego County Code of Administrative Ordinances Section 113.1, General Fund Balances and Reserves, all appropriations of the General Fund Reserve below the minimum balance will require at least four votes of the Board. At this point, the General Fund Reserve is anticipated to be replenished through operating results for the Fiscal Year 2023-24. Any use of the General Fund Reserve based on today’s actions will further draw down the General Fund Reserve, and if operating results are insufficient to replenish the General Fund Reserve to minimum levels, additional action will be needed to restore the Reserve to targeted levels. There will be no additional staff years.
Other storm response activities not addressed in today’s requests, such as County Disaster Service Worker (DSW) efforts, flood control projects, debris removal, road and damage repair, mental health services, housing navigation services, and overall staffing support, are projected to exceed $19 million once complete, and could extend into future fiscal years. Since many of these costs may exceed resources already included in the Fiscal Year 2023-24 Operational Plan, County staff are actively pursuing advance funding and potential reimbursement through applicable sources, including California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA) funding administered by Cal OES. Staff are scheduled to return to the Board on May 21, 2024, with the Fiscal Year 2023-24 3rd Quarter Operational Plan Status Letter Report, and may request amendments to impacted departmental budgets if necessary.
BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT
N/A
Details
ADVISORY BOARD STATEMENT
N/A
BACKGROUND
On January 22, 2024, a severe atmospheric river produced widespread flooding, mudslides, erosion, and storm debris throughout the region resulting in numerous road closures and severe damage to both public and private infrastructure. On the evening of January 22, 2024, the Interim Chief Administrative Officer of the County of San Diego (County), acting as Director of Emergency Services, proclaimed the existence of a local emergency and issued a Proclamation of Local Emergency (Proclamation). The Proclamation was issued pursuant to San Diego County Code of Regulatory Ordinances sections 31.101 et seq. and California Government Code Section 8630. Government Code Section 8630(b) requires that the Board of Supervisors (Board) ratify the Proclamation within seven days of being issued.
On January 24, 2024 (8), the Board ratified the January 22, 2024, Proclamation issued by the Interim Chief Administrative Officer, serving as the County’s Director of Emergency Services. Government Code section 8630(c) requires local governing bodies to review the need for continuing the local emergency at least once every 60 days until the local emergency is terminated. The Proclamation was ratified again on March 12, 2024 (3) and will expire on May 11, 2024, unless the Board takes action again before that date.
On behalf of the entire region, the County has mobilized over 200 County employees during its recovery activation, to support residents in all impacted jurisdictions. This includes staff who have been engaging in direct outreach to residents during nights and weekends to support with enrollment into County self-sufficiency programs and facilitate access to FEMA Individual Assistance, as well those who have been temporarily reassigned to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to provide program monitoring and oversight.
Historically, during a disaster response the County’s Office of Emergency Services has partnered with the American Red Cross to provide congregate shelter(s) for impacted individuals. The Red Cross has numerous agreements with school districts and community centers to utilize facilities for the purpose of disaster sheltering. In the case of the January 2024 flooding, to best care for residents impacted by the flooding, the County of San Diego endeavored something never done before, and which has only been tried a handful of times on a significantly smaller scale in California, by sheltering disaster survivors in hotel rooms. While several hotels were utilized during COVID due to the public health emergency, this disaster response included sheltering more than 2,000 residents in as many as 68 hotels which brought both logistical and communication challenges that were new to emergency management and disaster recovery in the region.
Congregate shelters allow food, mental health, animal welfare and case management to be delivered at one or two locations. Traditionally, the American Red Cross has provided for meals at congregate shelters. With flood survivors in 68 different hotels, food delivery was offered by the County of San Diego in new ways during this response to facilitate delivery to 68 hotels.
The County’s unprecedented investment into this flood recovery effort is consistent with the Board’s priority of advancing equitable outcomes for some of our region’s most impacted and under-resourced communities.
Since the initial proclamation, County staff have taken the following steps:
Regional Recovery Coordination with local, State and federal entities
County staff continues to work collaboratively with local, State, and federal agencies to provide support for residents who were impacted by the floods. Staff partnered with FEMA to direct residents to the two Disaster Recovery Centers and Disaster Survivor Assistance teams. These programs provided opportunities for residents to apply for FEMA Individual Assistance that includes financial support for renters and homeowners. FEMA operations for Individual Assistance ended on April 19, 2024, and only in limited circumstances are resources still available. Small Business Administration assistance will be available until May 4, 2024, at the locations which previously hosted the Disaster Recovery Centers.
Emergency Temporary Lodging
On January 30, 2024 (1), the Board approved a short-term, non-congregate sheltering program to provide up to 30 days of lodging for residents displaced by the storm, with an extension available based on household circumstances. The County’s Emergency Temporary Lodging (ETL) program was designed to provide critical emergency sheltering while ensuring a timely transition out of the program when FEMA Individual Assistance funds become available to households and/or to provide housing authorities with some time to identify alternative housing solutions for the longer term needs of their residents. Additionally, on March 8, 2024, the County entered into a one-month agreement to provide food services for the 2,255 individuals participating in the County’s ETL Program. On March 12, 2024 (3), the Board adopted a resolution making findings of emergency for appropriation of the General Fund Reserve for this emergency, voted to extend the ETL Program through May 11, 2024, and approved $3 million to provide food services in support of impacted residents. Projected costs to operate the ETL Program through May 11, 2024, 90 days from launch, is $16.6 million. ETL program participation includes residents from several cities and unincorporated areas in our region. As of April 19, 2024, of the 649 households impacted by the January storms and in the County’s lodging program, about 84% are from the City of San Diego, 7% are from the City of National City, and 5% are from the unincorporated area. The remaining 4% are residents from 8 other cities in our region.
Since the Board meeting on March 12, 2024, County staff have taken the following steps:
Food Program
Following the Board’s allocation of $3.0 million for feeding, the County’s EOC partnered with a local community-based organization to deliver hot meals to residents. In addition, on March 21, 2024, a contract with Uber Eats was created to provide residents with the option for prepared meals or groceries. A partnership with Uber Eats promotes a more inclusive response to flood impacted families by allowing residents to flexibly eat meals on their own schedules and accommodate religious and dietary needs. Each resident in the ETL program receives an $8.50 credit per meal, per day for a weekly total of $178.50. A household of three, which is the approximate average in a ETL room, receives $535.50 per week or $2,142 per month. This allocation is in addition to households eligible for Disaster CalFresh. Residents transitioning from ETL are allowed to spend their weekly amount to support more successful outcomes. By the third week of the program, 75% of all weekly dollars were being spent and making a positive impact for families. The allocation of funds for the provision of food services is the first time the County has ever provided direct meal delivery for participants in a sustained recovery response and ensures the region’s most vulnerable residents are supported during this challenging time.
Community Engagement at Hotels
Over the course of 32 days, the County’s EOC staff coordinated for on-site presence at 11 ETL hotels with the largest presence of flood victims to facilitate access to County and FEMA services. A multi-disciplinary team, comprising County Disaster Service Workers (DSW), Equus Workforce Solutions, Behavioral Health Services Community & Engagement workers, and FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance teams, visited hotels to engage ETL participants and provide opportunities to register for FEMA Individual Assistance and enroll into County self-sufficiency and community services. DSWs provided computers and printers for use by residents to facilitate their connection to FEMA and other resources.
Behavioral Health Resources
To provide support for individuals within the County’s ETL Program experiencing mental/behavioral health challenges, the County contracted with Open Heart Leaders (OHL). OHL has worked with ETL points of contact to provide outreach and engagement and to create referral pathways for OHL services. Sixteen individuals have reached out to OHL for individual and group counseling. OHL has been in contact with 5 hotels to establish regular group therapy. In addition to the OHL contract, County Behavioral Health Services has established a contract with JIREH Providers to establish mobile outreach, screening, behavioral health/social service linkage, and navigation services for people displaced from their homes by the floods. Additionally, information was provided to inform people impacted by the floods about the array of existing behavioral health resources available. This includes referrals to the Access and Crisis Line (ACL), which serves as the local behavioral health crisis call center and is free of charge, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Calls to the ACL are answered by experienced counselors who provide immediate support and help with service navigation. The ACL facilitates connections to behavioral health care, including services offered by the County for those who qualify and services available to people with private insurance or through other providers. In addition to the ACL, information regarding existing behavioral health services, such as substance use and mental health outpatient services, was also provided, along with the Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRT). MCRTs are teams of clinical staff and peers support specialists who can be deployed to support individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis to stabilize people in the community and connect them to community resources and treatment services.
Community Engagement - Call Center
The County’s EOC established a dedicated phone number for residents to call and seek guidance on ETL eligibility and Uber Eats food vouchers. The call center was eventually staffed 7 days a week by County Disaster Service Workers, and has supported multiple efforts to proactively call and engage with residents that had otherwise been inaccessible and in need of being successfully connected to FEMA, ETL, or the County’s food program. Through April 19, 2024, over 1,400 calls have been logged with cases escalated as appropriate. Residents were encouraged to register for FEMA Individual Assistance, and personalized assistance has been provided to residents navigating the food program and ETL eligibility. Call center staff assisted residents with navigating County services, providing documentation to remain in the ETL program, and be connected with their local housing authority for transitional services.
FEMA Individual Assistance and ETL Transition - Working Group of Housing Authorities
The County’s efforts to connect residents to FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers and Disaster Survivor Assistance teams have been on-going to ensure as many impacted residents as possible apply for FEMA Individual Assistance. If residents are approved, direct funds are made available by FEMA to help repair homes or provide rental assistance. Rental assistance can include support for security deposits and up to 18 months of financial assistance for monthly rental payments from the day of the federal disaster declaration. As of April 19, 2024, FEMA has distributed over $21 million in combined assistance to the community for housing and other needs. For San Diego County, the rental assistance terminates in August 2025. In addition, residents were able to access $5.7 million in Disaster Cal Fresh funds and have so far secured $1.7 million in Small Business Administration loans.
The County has led a regional effort in supporting the City of San Diego, San Diego Housing Commission, and National City Housing Authority during the recovery in support of our region’s flood victims. County staff included the cities of San Diego and National City staff in conversations regarding FEMA and Cal OES resources. On March 15, 2024, formal requests were placed by the County to the cities of San Diego and National City to include their representatives in a working group, along with the County Housing Authority representatives, to review/access ETL participants’ circumstances, contacting the residents within their housing authority boundary, and connecting them to the appropriate longer term housing resources within their jurisdiction.
Transition Date Communications
On April 2, 2024, the County commenced delivery operations of 7-day Transition Notification Letters to 293 ETL households at participating hotels. The communications were directed to families who had not satisfied the minimum program requirements for ETL which included registering for FEMA Individual Assistance and/or submitting proof of damage to their properties. With the goal of minimizing impacts to residents in the temporary lodging program and to support the transition to mid- and long-term housing, County EOC staff provided to the housing providers at the City of San Diego, City of National City, and the County’s Department of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities the list of residents who were deemed ineligible for the County’s program and would receive 7-day letters indicating their exit from the program. Residents receiving the 7-day letters had multiple contact attempts through phone, email, and text messages, in addition to the delivery of resource packets, available in English, Spanish, digital, and paper form.
An additional 652 resource packets were delivered to residents, through April 17, 2024, who are eligible for the ETL program through May 11, 2024. County DSW teams partnered with FEMA’s National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) case managers and met with residents at their hotels to provide resources and make connections to VOAD’s long-term case managers who can assist with identifying housing options. While on-site at hotels, County DSWs asked residents if they had a place to relocate on May 11, 2024. For those who did not, they were connected to housing resources in their jurisdiction. Staff from the cities of San Diego and National City were provided with the names and contact information of residents exiting the ETL program.
Recommendation 2.b through 2.d
Unincorporated Communities and Municipalities in the San Diego County Housing Authority
The San Diego County Housing Authority (County Housing Authority) serves residents in the unincorporated communities and the following 13 cities: Escondido, San Marcos, Vista, Poway, Del Mar, Santee, El Cajon, Lemon Grove, La Mesa, Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach, and Solana Beach. The County Housing Authority has developed the outline for a roadmap to assist flood impacted residents from the County Housing Authority’s jurisdiction transition out of the ETL program and into permanent housing.
Transition Support
The County Housing Authority is providing transition support to renter households in ETL that come from the County Housing Authority’s jurisdiction with the goal of assisting households transition out of ETL and into permanent housing by the end of the ETL program on May 11, 2024.
The process begins with an assessment of each ETL household’s status and barriers to exiting. As of April 19, 2024, County Housing Authority has established a connection with 53 of the 67 ETL households. The County Housing Authority has made, and will continue to make, attempts to contact the remaining 14 households.
Of the 53 engaged in transition support, 13 have indicated they have identified permanent housing and do not need further transition support. Of those who have not identified permanent housing, financial assistance to cover security deposits and first month’s rent has been identified as the largest barrier. The County Housing Authority team will continue to work with households to determine barriers and potential resource needs and make connections with existing programs or services in the community. Based on individual household need, County transition support may also include development of a housing plan and assistance with navigating systems or searching for housing as needed. Transition support is being done by a team of County staff.
Additional Financial Support to ETL households in the County Housing Authority’s Jurisdiction
Based on initial contacts made by the County Housing Authority transition team, households are still facing financial barriers to moving into and/or securing permanent housing. In addition to the transition support described above, if funds are appropriated per this recommendation, the County Housing Authority would provide financial assistance to ETL households within the County Housing Authority jurisdiction based on individual need. Payments would be used to cover housing-related costs such as moving and storage costs, application fees, and/or security deposits. Payments would be for documented, housing-related costs that are not covered or paid for by FEMA Individual Assistance grants to avoid duplication of benefits. Payments would be made directly to the individual household. As necessary, the County Housing Authority, through the Department of Housing and Community Development Services, may amend existing County contracts for the administration of these payments and/or utilize existing County staff.
This use of funds would address an imminent public health and housing threat by providing housing navigation or direct payments to residents thereby reducing the risk of families that were housed prior to the January 22, 2024, storms from becoming homeless, or returning to their home prior to it becoming safe for dwelling (for instance, if it has not yet been fully remediated for mold or cleared of debris). It is in the public’s interest to reduce homelessness and protect vulnerable residents to avoid further health disparities in some of our region's most under-resourced communities. This use of funds is therefore necessary to meet the social needs of the population of the region in the areas of health, public safety, and welfare in accordance with Government Code section 26227.
Recommendation 3
Funding to Other Local Housing Authorities
An option for the Board’s consideration is to provide funding to other local housing authorities in support of their efforts to transition their residents out of the ETL program and into a permanent housing solution. Funding provided could cover the cost differential between FEMA Individual Assistance benefits and the actual housing-related costs. For example, the funding could be used by these housing authorities to support residents through housing navigation or with the costs of security deposits, application fees, moving and storage costs. Many of the items are eligible uses of FEMA Individual Assistance and housing authorities would be required to ensure assistance provided is for costs not paid for by FEMA funding.
The average household size across the ETL is 2.92. The amount of potential grant funding per jurisdiction is based upon an estimated amount for a security deposit for a two-bedroom apartment based on HUD established Fair Market Rent ($2,833), $1,250 in moving costs, and $100 in application fees per households. For each household in a jurisdiction, up to $7,016 could be provided to the local housing authority. As proposed in the recommendation, County staff recommend provision of funding to each jurisdiction be contingent upon a minimal match to be provided by the receiving housing authority. One direction the Board could provide would be to specify the type of match to be required. An “in-kind” match could include provision of navigation services to assist with helping households find units. The “financial” match could include providing dollar-for-dollar assistance to the assisted households (e.g. the housing authority would cover half of the cost of the assistance provided). Local housing authorities matching County funding should spend their appropriations prior to County money to maximize the investment in underserved communities and this additional investment would only begin after ETL concludes on May 11, 2024.
The below chart, with data as of April 19, 2024, provides two options for allocating County funding to local housing authorities if the Board chooses to exercise this option. The first provides additional funding only for those households who have qualified for FEMA Individual Assistance. The second option provides a grant for all households in ETL to prevent households from becoming homeless when ETL is anticipated to end on May 11, 2024. The two considerations include $7,016 applied for each household in a housing authority’s jurisdiction and an additional 10% for administrative expenses.
|
Housing Authority |
ETL Households Eligible for FEMA Individual Assistance |
ETL Households Eligible for FEMA Individual Assistance-Estimated Financial Impact ($7,016 per eligible household) |
All Households in the ETL Program |
All Households in the ETL Program-Estimated Financial Impact ($7,016 per household) |
|
San Diego Housing Commission (City of San Diego) |
254 |
$1.96 million |
543 |
$4.2 million |
|
National City |
27 |
$208,375 |
47 |
$362,727 |
|
Oceanside |
0 |
0 |
3 |
$23,153 |
|
Total* |
281 |
$2.2 million |
593 |
$4.6 million |
*Total does not include the San Diego County Housing Authority
This use of funds would address an imminent public health and housing threat by providing housing navigation or direct payments to residents thereby reduces the risk of families that were housed prior to the January 22, 2024 storms from becoming homeless, or returning to their home prior to it becoming safe for dwelling (for instance, if it has not yet been fully remediated for mold or cleared of debris). It is in the public’s interest to reduce homelessness and protect vulnerable residents to avoid further health disparities in some of our region's most under-resourced communities. This use of funds is therefore necessary to meet the social needs of the population of the County in the areas of health, public safety, and welfare in accordance with Government Code section 26227.
This Board letter is a request to find that a review of the local emergency has been conducted and that the local emergency will remain in effect at this time. In addition, the Board is being asked to approve an end to the ETL and feeding programs as of May 11, 2024, provide additional appropriations and contract authority for Housing and Community Development Services to provide transitional support for ETL households who are in the San Diego County Housing Authority’s jurisdiction. Today’s actions also request policy direction regarding financial support for local housing authorities to assist in the successful transition of their residents from the County’s ETL program to their own housing programs.
LINKAGE TO THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO STRATEGIC PLAN
This recommendation supports the Community and Equity Strategic Initiatives in the County of San Diego’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan by preserving public health, safety, and utilizes policies that provide housing opportunities that meet the needs of the community.
Respectfully submitted,
SARAH E. AGHASSI
Interim Chief Administrative Officer
ATTACHMENT(S)
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