On Oct. 23, our office hosted a roundtable in Apple Valley with our faith-based and nonprofit stakeholders. The event was well attended, featuring an update from our Community Revitalization Department.
Topics included affordable housing projects, homeless outreach and the revitalization of low-income neighborhoods.
“Community Revitalization is a reworked department that puts Community Development and Housing and the Office of Homeless Services under its umbrella,” said Community Development and Housing Department (CDH) Director Carrie Harmon. “By combining those two departments, we create the structure to receive that federal and state funding and get it right back out in the community.”
The department deploys between $50-$100 million annually under the Community Revitalization umbrella. During the 22/23 fiscal year, they awarded $18.3 million in contracts to Continuum of Care agencies (nonprofits), and implemented a $1.7 million Encampment Resolution Fund grant to address large-scale homeless encampments (which included the Mojave Riverbed).
According Harmon, senior homelessness is growing at an exponential rate. She said that today’s renters need to earn approximately $36.36 per hour to afford the asking rate of approximately $1,891 per month. Many times, she said, the families are not even aware that the seniors are homeless because they don’t want to be a burden to their children.
The department’s goals include housing the most at-risk community members and increasing shelter capacity. During the last fiscal year, they served over 2,500 homeless individuals with the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) via street outreach, emergency shelter and rapid re-housing.
“Here in San Bernardino County, we’re trying to develop a pathway to get folks off the streets and into housing on the same day,” said Chief of Homeless Services Marcus Dillard. “But in order to do so, you need to have a system of collaboration, which means each one of us has to work together in order to make this happen.”
Thank you to Carrie Harmon, Marcus Dillard, and all of the nonprofits/faith-based leaders who participated in this event!
