Montgomery County council member announces $1 million to shore up crisis and senior services after on‑site tours

Silver Spring — Council member Lori Ann Sales announced a $1,000,000 special appropriation to Montgomery County’s fiscal year 2026 operating budget after touring the county’s crisis center and emergency housing sites, saying the money is intended to “prevent temporary harm from becoming permanent damage.”

Sales, who chairs the county Health and Human Services Committee, made the announcement at a press conference in Silver Spring after visits to a 24/7 crisis center and short‑term motel sheltering sites. “This emergency appropriation is our response, and it sends a clear message,” Sales said, adding that “aging in place with dignity is not a luxury.”

County staff and crisis‑center employees described high demand for behavioral health and housing services during the tour. At the crisis center, an on‑site staff member who identified herself as Marcy said the center operates around the clock and “we have 52 merit staff here at the crisis center” plus about “12 to 15 at any given time PRN staff who work as needed,” including licensed clinicians and peer recovery specialists. Staff said the center emphasizes family work and stabilization to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations.

Officials who showed Sales emergency housing sites told her the county spends more than $4,000,000 a year on motel sheltering for families because federally funded long‑term housing is limited. Tour narration and housing staff said close to 800 people were in motel‑based housing countywide; motel rooms often lack kitchens or storage, creating practical challenges for families.

Housing staff also told Sales that the withdrawal of a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Notice of Funding Opportunity (HUD NOFO) had threatened a large share of some federal funding—staff described that risk as a roughly 70% cut to certain funding streams—though the transcript does not include documentation of the federal action itself.

Sales and county staff outlined how the announced $1,000,000 would be allocated if approved: $450,000 to senior nutrition programs to restore meal access, $300,000 for home‑care services to reduce wait lists, and $250,000 for respite care to provide additional hours of support to families, according to Sales’s remarks. The resolution was described in the announcement as co‑led by Council President Natalie Fani Gonzalez and council members Sydney Katz, Kristen Mink and Will Giwando; the press event did not include a recorded council vote in the transcript.

County officials emphasized partnerships with landlords and community programs to move families into stable housing and reduce reliance on motel sheltering. Staff described the average length of stay across the system as roughly 140 days — about four to five months — and said family stays trend a bit longer.

The announcement framed the appropriation as an immediate stabilization measure aimed at seniors, families and other vulnerable residents facing service reductions and rising demand. The transcript does not show a formal council vote or the administrative steps required to transfer the funds into the FY2026 operating budget; those procedural steps were not specified in the recorded segments.

Sales concluded by underscoring cross‑agency collaboration, and county staff said they will continue coordinating with the Department of Health and Human Services and community partners about program needs and implementation.