Merced County and Merced Rescue Mission outline plan to use $3.2 million Continuum of Care grant in Atwater

Merced County officials and the Merced Rescue Mission on Monday described how they plan to use a $3,200,000 Continuum of Care grant to address homelessness in Atwater, focusing on outreach, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing and the data management systems needed to coordinate care.

John Checkley, deputy director of the Merced County Human Services Agency, told the Atwater City Council the federal Continuum of Care board approved the application and that the grant covers four main activities: outreach and engagement, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing/permanent housing placements and data management. “All four of those activities are covered in this grant,” he said.

Checkley placed the funding in a broader policy context, referencing recent legal and state-level changes he said have made more active encampment management possible. He also cited state programs such as CARE Court, CalAIM’s Enhanced Care Management and Proposition 1, which he said created roughly…