Explanation
BACKGROUND: In late 2011, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) reinvented its Emergency Shelter Grant program. The new Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) expands the original purpose of preventing homelessness and providing emergency shelter to include and encourage initiatives of rapid re-housing and stabilization for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Additionally the grant can now also be used to support the community's Homeless Management Information System to guarantee that the community's plan to end homelessness is based on the most applicable and current homeless data available.
The City of Columbus has been awarded an additional allocation of $506,123 from HUD for 2012. This legislation authorizes an appropriation from the General Government Grant Fund of ESG funds and authorizes the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a contract with the Community Shelter Board, Inc. (CSB) for the administration of the City's Emergency Solutions Grant monies. Funds will be used to meet the housing needs identified in the Consolidated Plan submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The contract will provide $506,123 from the Emergency Solutions Grant for the purpose of effectively and efficiently enabling our community to help individuals and families who are homeless resolve their housing crisis. The CSB has been selected because of their history with the city and the homeless service community in the funding and coordination of services to homeless individuals and families, as well as, their established administrative procedures to effectively and efficiently implement such services.
Emergency action is necessary in order to continue housing crisis response initiatives without interruption.
FISCAL IMPACT: The Emergency Solutions Grant allocation is for $506,123. Funds for the contract are allocated from the General Government Grant Fund in the amount of $506,123...
Click here for full text