Local Assemblymember Rudy Salas hosted a roundtable discussion Friday accessing state funding for combating the homelessness crisis in the Central Valley.
Salas helped secure $650 million in new grant funding in the 2019- 2020 state budget which cities, counties, and Continuums of Care’s (CoC) can access. This grant was through the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) program.
Salas was joined Friday by representatives from cities throughout Kern and Kings Counties.
Based on the most recent Point in Time Counts, which measures the current homeless populations in each city, Salas said the following funding is available:
- City of Bakersfield: $3,265,736.61
- Kern County: $1,461,630.24
- Bakersfield/Kern CoC: $1,566,746.98
- Kings County: $274,742.53
- Kings/Tulare CoC: $1,253,397.58
The funding will go towards for a variety of projects ranging from shelters, treatment programs, affordable housing, public safety, outreach, and addiction treatment.
“The Valley has a unique opportunity to bring historic levels of investment to our cities to help reduce the homelessness crisis, build more affordable housing, and make our communities safer,” said Assemblymember Salas. “We need to ensure that the Valley receives all emergency funds to address this crisis head on by getting people off of the streets and improving the health and well-being of our communities.”
