Modesto, Stanislaus getting $7.25M in pandemic relief to help renters, homeless
A Modesto nonprofit that helps low-income families pay their rent says the number of phone calls from tenants has remained steady during the pandemic, but what really has gone up is how far behind the callers are in their rent.
Community Housing and Shelter Services Executive Director Esther Rosas said before the new coronavirus and the stay-at-home and other restrictions that have shuttered much of the economy, callers needed help with the current month’s rent. Now, she said, they need help with several months’ worth.
“We’ve always received a high volume of calls,” said Rosas, whose nonprofit works primarily with families with children in Stanislaus County. “It’s not so much that (the number of calls have increased). When people were calling normally they might be one month behind. Now typically, it’s May, June, July and August.”
But there is more money coming for nonprofits that help people pay their rent and utilities as well as nonprofits that help homeless people. Modesto and Stanislaus County have been awarded a combined $7.25 million for these services. The city and county will contract with nonprofits to provide the services.
Money for homeless shelters and outreach
The $7.25 million is from the nearly $3 billion that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced in June that it had awarded to cities and counties as part of the roughly $2 trillion federal CARES Act, which was designed to provide economic relief during the pandemic.
HUD is providing the funding through its Emergency Solutions Grant program. The money can be used for emergency shelters, homeless outreach, motel vouchers for the homeless, paying rent and utilities to keep people in their homes, and similar efforts.
HUD’s June announcement was for Round 2 of its ESG Cares Act funding. It awarded $1 billion in Round 1 in April, with Modesto and Stanislaus County awarded a combined $1.27 million. There are no other rounds. And no other Stanislaus city received this funding.
Modesto and Stanislaus County officials said they expect to bring the Round 2 funding and how they propose spending it to their elected officials in the coming months.
City, county would respond quickly
Modesto Community Development Manager Jessica Narayan and Stanislaus County Planning and Community Development Director Angela Freitas said the city and county each need to do outreach to ensure the money is spent where it is needed most and to develop spending plans that meet HUD guidelines. Both said they have money from Round 1 that could be spent if conditions change.
“We currently have $230,000 that is allocated now to this activity,” Narayan said in an email. “If this is exhausted quickly and the demand is still there in the community, the City would respond quickly with ESG round 2 funding.”
Rosas said Modesto awarded Community Housing and Shelter Services $40,000 in Round 1 and Stanislaus County awarded her nonprofit $340,000. The county award is pending Board of Supervisors’ approval.
“There is a need. The need is definitely there,” Rosas said about emergency solutions grant money.
Despite the additional $600 a week in unemployment benefits provided by the CARES Act, Rosas said some tenants still fell behind in their rent. She said these are people who are living paycheck to paycheck and while some may have not made the best spending decisions, others paid for pressing needs, such as medical procedures for their children not covered by MediCal, the state health insurance program for poor people.
The $600 benefit expired July 31. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order replacing it with a $400 a week benefit, but Gov. Gavin Newsom has said Trump’s plan won’t work in California because the state cannot afford it (Trump wants the states to pay $100 of the $400) and because of how much time it would take to reprogram Employment Development Department computers to send out the $400 benefit.
75 families living in motels
And a statewide ban on evictions could end Friday. The Judicial Council of California, the policymaker for the state court system, imposed the ban in early April. It wants the Legislature to come up with a solution, but lawmakers have asked the council for more time. Council members are reviewing a draft order regarding the eviction ban.
Rosas said the majority of landlords want to keep their tenants housed and in some cases have waived rent or called Community Housing & Shelter Services seeking help for their tenants. But she said there are limits to what landlords can do, and they have their own bills to pay.
She added that the pandemic has highlighted the affordable housing crisis. Rosas said Community Housing and Shelter Services is working with 75 families with children who are living in motel rooms throughout the county.
“There is no housing for them,” she said. “Where are these families going to go? It’s not for lack of trying. They look. We help them, but it’s not there. The market is so limited. If someone called here with a new 50-unit apartment complex, we could fill it today. The need is that great.”
This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
