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Commissioners approve FY2016 homeless services grant applications totaling $164,029; presenters emphasize housing-first approach for veterans
Summary
The commissioners on May 5 authorized submission of consolidated FY2016 homeless services grant applications to the Maryland Department of Human Resources totaling $164,029 for emergency/transitional housing, a women's crisis shelter and prevention services.
The Commissioners of St. Mary's County voted May 5 to approve consolidated FY2016 homeless services grant applications to the Maryland Department of Human Resources totaling $164,029.
The application bundles $81,506 for emergency and transitional housing services, $67,241 for a homeless women's crisis shelter and $15,282 for a homeless prevention program, department staff said. Lori Jennings-Harris and Cynthia Brown presented the application and were joined by Lanny Lancaster, executive director of 3 Oaks Center, and Don Kidd from the Department of Social Services.
"We have changed from a shelter mentality to a housing-first mentality," the presenter said, describing county efforts to place homeless residents — especially veterans — directly into permanent housing rather than shelters. The presenter said that two years earlier the county counted 68 homeless veterans and, with support from Supportive Services for Veterans Families grants and HUD VASH vouchers, reduced that number by 41 percent.
Presenters described the county's veteran-targeted approach as a replicable model for other homeless populations and noted ongoing coordination among the county, nonprofit providers and federal partners. They said the county maintains a coordinated local overdose-prevention work group that shares data and that the county eliminated wait lists for treatment in related programs.
A motion to approve the homeless services grant application (project IDs cited in the motion: MD1658, MD1657 and MD1655) was moved by Commissioner Perez and seconded; the motion passed by voice vote. Commissioners thanked providers and discussed ongoing efforts to pursue housing vouchers and other long-term resources.
Clarifying details from the meeting: consolidated grant totals ($164,029) broken down by program line items; presenters indicated a 41% reduction in counted homeless veterans following supportive services and VASH voucher deployment; staff said subrecipient agreements for homeless services will be brought back to the board in several weeks.
Next steps: county staff will submit the consolidated FY2016 application, and, after award notifications, bring subrecipient agreements to the commission for execution.
