Board approves Measure O and state HAP awards after community panel reviews 60 proposals

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on March 18 approved staff recommendations to distribute Measure O and state Homelessness Assistance and Prevention (HAP) grant funds to community providers, following a community advisory panel review of more than 60 proposals.

The Department of Health Services recommended using roughly $4.4 million from Measure O and $1.4 million from the state's HAP program to fund a set of behavioral‑health and homelessness projects. Assistant Director Gabriel Kaplan and Program Planning Analyst David Hiatt described a process that relied on a five‑member community advisory panel and scoring criteria designed to improve equity and accessibility.

"One of the big innovations that we're moving forward in terms of approaching how to get the money out into the community" said Gabriel Kaplan, assistant director of the Department of Health Services, describing why staff used a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) instead of a standard RFP process. David Hiatt told the board the panel spent many hours reviewing proposals and that requests exceeded $25 million for about $6.4 million (as described in presentation materials) in available funds.

The panel and staff recommended awards to multiple local providers, including $500,000 to Aldea Inc. (SOAR program), $294,000 to Aldea for adolescent substance‑use prevention, $500,000 to Alliance Medical Center for a behavioral health workforce pipeline, $499,000 to Catholic Charities to expand mental‑health programming, $499,000 to the California Parenting Institute for school‑based services, $420,000 to the Jewish Community Free Clinic for child and youth mental‑health expansion, $486,000 to Santa Rosa Community Health Centers for street medicine, $500,000 to West County Health Center for substance‑use and mental‑health work in West County, and $500,000 to the YWCA for specialized counseling for children and youth. HAP awards recommended included $350,000 to Home First for rapid rehousing in Sonoma Valley, $444,000 to Community Support Network (CSN) for integrated recovery transitional‑age‑youth housing, and $255,000 to TLC Child & Family Services for transitional‑age‑youth rapid rehousing. Staff noted a transcription typo on one award and said one COPS‑related item was actually $193,000 in the recommended list.

Public commenters and community organizations urged the county to prioritize service access for highly marginalized groups. Chase Overholt, interim executive director of Positive Images, said local trans and undocumented residents "do not feel safe anywhere but Positive Images" and urged funding to reach organizations led by and for LGBTQIA+ communities. Board members asked staff to accelerate a next NOFA and to track outcomes for voters and oversight committees.

The board approved the recommendations and the related motions unanimously (board members present). Supervisors and staff also directed Department of Health Services to return with monitoring details and to consider an accelerated follow‑up NOFA to address gaps and emergent needs.

Why it matters: The awards are intended to channel Measure O and HAP dollars into services for mental health, substance use and homelessness, including programs aimed at youth, street outreach and school‑based mental‑health services. Board members and advocates stressed urgency because community need outpaced the available funds and because the political and funding landscape at the state and federal level is changing.

What's next: Staff said they expect to return with a program update and an interest‑rate reevaluation at the May 20 meeting, and they indicated they will work to issue another NOFA in summer 2025 if additional funds or operational adjustments free up new money.