Agda Pkt 2025.02.24 Joint SA PFA

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Page 2 of 6 City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org On November 27, 2023, the California Inter-Agency Council on Homelessness (Cal-ICH)1 released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) in the amount of $298 million to provide funding for jurisdictions to support unhoused residents and address encampments on State-controlled properties. On April 30, 2024, staff submitted an application for Round 3 of the ERF Program, requesting $2,850,628.24 and on December 23, 2024 and the City received an ERF award of the same amount. Due to the timing of the award, the new grant is being funded through Round 42 of the ERF Program. ANALYSIS The objective of the State’s ERF Program is to fund local proposals that resolve the experience of unsheltered homelessness for people residing in encampments with the goal of transitioning encampment residents into interim or permanent housing. To meet State requirements, proposals are to be data informed, non-punitive, low-barrier, person-centered, Housing First, and coordinated approaches that ensure the safety and wellness of people experiencing homelessness in encampments. In keeping with the current ERF Program objectives, the City intends to use the majority of the funds to support homeless outreach, case management and time-limited housing subsidies focused on transitioning residents to interim and permanent housing. The City’s ERF proposal focusses on three areas where encampments commonly occur in Redwood City: 1. Highway 101 and Highway 84 intersection; 2. Along the Highway 84 corridor of Woodside Road; and 3. Along Seaport Boulevard. The prioritized encampments for the ERF program are shown in Figure 1 below: 1 Up until June 30, 2024, Cal-ICH was the administrative entity that oversaw the ERF grant program, but as of July 1 2024, the ERF grant program is now under the administration of the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The ERF-1 grant award was administered by Cal-ICH, but the ERF-4-L award is administered by HCD. 2 Although staff applied for Round 3 of the ERF Program, grant applications were reviewed on a rolling basis and funds appropriated for Round 3 were fully awarded to other communities before the City’s application was reviewed by HCD. However, additional ERF funds were appropriated by the State Legislature and these are referred to as ERF 4 “Lookback” funds. 6.D. - Page 2 of 32 82