As California’s homeless population has grown, it has become an increasing concern in communities. Last year’s point-in-time count of California’s homeless populations exposed that about 130,000 Californians were homeless, about a quarter of the nation’s total. Contributing to the problem is the state’s chronic shortage of affordable housing. Working to address this issue, California created the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP)-- a $500 million block grant initiative to provide direct, immediate aid to local governments to address California’s homelessness crisis.
Earlier this year the San Luis Obispo County Homeless Services Oversight Council was tasked with deciding how to distribute $4.8 million in grant funding that was received from the state. How was this funding distributed and what will be done with it to address the homeless crisis?
\Join Fred Munroe as he speaks with Janna Nichols, Executive Director with the 5 Cities Homeless Coalition and John Fowler, President and CEO with Peoples’ Self-Help Housing, one of the proposals receiving funding, as they discuss a plan to collaborate and use part of this funding on a new type of project aimed at addressing homelessness in South San Luis Obispo County.
