Evansville advisory panel hears CDBG and ESG funding requests from shelters, food programs and senior services

The Citizens Advisory Committee heard presentations from more than two dozen local nonprofits on Jan. 16 seeking Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) support for emergency shelter operations, rapid rehousing, food distribution and services for older adults and people with disabilities.

The requests ranged from $15,000 to six figures and covered shelter operations, coordinated entry staffing, rapid rehousing, food-pantry operations and meal-delivery programs. Committee members did not vote at the meeting; the session was a block of public presentations for the committee’s forthcoming funding recommendations.

Why it matters: the grants under discussion come from federal HUD programs administered through the city and help fund the operating costs of emergency and preventive services — from immediate shelter and meals to case management that connects people to longer-term housing.

Presenters described specific uses and local demand. Leslie James Wilhite, director of advocacy and education at Albion Fellows Bacon Center, described the agency’s 24-hour emergency shelter for adults and minor children fleeing domestic violence and said the shelter operates a voluntary services model and accepts clients accompanied by pets. “We are a pet friendly shelter,” Wilhite said.

Zach Hieronymus, executive director of Aurora…