Jurupa Valley CDBG grant recipients report rising demand for senior meals and shelter services

Family Service Association and Path of Life Ministries told the Jurupa Valley Community Development Advisory Committee on Monday evening that demand for senior meals and homelessness services has increased, and city CDBG staff outlined the timeline for awarding public‑service grants.

Tom Donahue, program administrator for Family Service Association’s Senior Nutrition Program, said the provider has a long history in the city and reported robust usage at the Eddie D. Smith Senior Center. "At mid year right now, we've served over 8,000 meals. That puts us on pace to serve about 16,000 meals, averaging over 65 residents that are attending meal Monday through Friday at the Eddie D. Smith Senior Center," Donahue said, describing what he estimated as a roughly 20–25% increase over last year. He said FSA served about 248 unduplicated seniors and more than 13,000 meals last fiscal year and had recorded 152 unduplicated seniors at mid‑year this year.

Donahue said volunteers make up about half of the program’s workforce, and that the agency runs its distribution center from a facility on Mission Boulevard. He described building security measures and said FSA expects to draw down its CDBG contract in the coming quarter. "Our commitment is that if somebody walks into that center, they're going to get a meal," Donahue said.

Andrew Sanchez, outreach manager for Path of Life Ministries, said outreach teams concentrate activity in the Mission Boulevard corridor and the riverbed and reported 183 individuals encountered in December. He said Path of Life had enrolled 36 people into its program, referred others to specialized services such as mental‑health and substance‑use treatment, and recorded about 520 shelter nights of a planned 1,000. "The stay at the shelter is usually 60 to 90 days with the hope of increasing connections to services and housing," Sanchez said, adding that the average length of stay for Jurupa Valley residents in their shelter has been about 37 days.

Sanchez described services that include transportation to appointments and help obtaining identification documents, job‑readiness work such as resume writing and forklift certification assistance, and housing navigation that helped one family secure a two‑bedroom apartment. He also noted that the outreach hotline is routed to his phone and teams try to respond within 24 hours when residents report someone in need.

Amy Sells, city CDBG staff, gave an overview of the Community Development Block Grant program. She said the city receives approximately $1,000,000 annually from the federal government and that federal rules allow up to 15% of that amount for public services — roughly $150,000. Sells described typical CDBG uses such as infrastructure projects in low‑ and moderate‑income areas and noted the city’s Home Rehab Program is roughly $100,000 and typically assists about 10 homes per year.

Sells also reviewed the public‑service grant schedule: applications closed Jan. 31, qualifying applicants will present to the committee on Feb. 26, and the committee will reconvene March 12 to score applicants and forward recommendations to the City Council for final funding decisions. "We will have a second meeting on March 12. These are both at 6 p.m.," she said.

The committee approved the meeting agenda at the start of the session and deferred election of chair and vice chair until a future meeting because several members were absent. Chair (identified only in the transcript by role) closed the meeting, thanked staff and presenters and adjourned at 6:38 p.m.

What’s next: A larger set of applicants is expected to present on Feb. 26; the committee’s scores on March 12 will go to council for final award decisions.