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Next Step 2‑Generation grant has helped 37 families; renewal uncertain, housing authority says
Summary
Lindsey Grozalski Hacking of Innovative Housing Concepts described a state Next Step 2‑Generation grant that has delivered rental crisis assistance and case management to 37 families across Sheridan and Englewood; the grant ends March 31 and state renewal is uncertain.
Lindsey Grozalski Hacking, executive director of Innovative Housing Concepts (the public housing authority serving Englewood City and Sheridan), briefed the Tri Cities group on the Next Step 2‑Generation grant, a state Division of Housing program that funds housing stabilization services for school‑age families.
Grozalski Hacking said the grant was first awarded in fall 2020 with Sheridan as the initial school partner; the program expanded to Englewood after a 2023 renewal and has helped 37 families during the current grant cycle that runs April 1 to March 31. She reported 23 families served in the Sheridan School District and 14 in Englewood. "We are basically 84% of the grant spent," she said, adding the program had about $25,000 left for direct rental assistance and intends to expend the full grant by the end of the cycle.
The grant pays for direct housing stabilization (security deposits, moving costs, short-term rent or late-fee payments) and for a housing coordinator who assists families with landlord negotiations, housing searches and connections to other resources. Grozalski Hacking said the state program is more flexible on eligibility than some federal programs and has allowed the authority to help migrant and mixed‑status families. "We usually give for families experiencing, almost eviction or doing homelessness prevention. We usually give them about 3 months of rent," she said.
Grozalski Hacking gave the program’s two‑year operating cost as roughly $300,000 (administration, direct payments and coordinator salary). She said she has had no indication from the state that the grant will be renewed beyond the current cycle and encouraged participants to pursue outreach to state contacts. Gretchen, a state official on the call, said she would seek details about which state office administers the award and try to raise the program’s profile with the relevant budget and appropriations staff.
Why it matters: the Next Step grant provides a local, nimble source of eviction-prevention assistance tied to school stability; its loss would leave a gap for families who do not qualify for some federal programs. Local participants suggested contacting the region’s state representatives and the Division of Housing to seek clarity and possible renewal.
Grozalski Hacking said staff can provide a short summary of the grant’s impact (the 37 families helped) and budget information to support outreach to state legislators.
