Carson City Supervisors approve HUD grant providing housing for homeless residents
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Thu, 09/07/2023 - 10:44am
Carson City Supervisors approved Thursday a HUD grant which for the past year has helped to take a dozen individuals off the streets.
According to Carson City Health and Human Services’s Mary Jane Ostrander, who oversees the program, the program allows Carson City to place two homeless individuals into two-bedroom apartments so that they can get on their feet, find employment, and eventually take over the leases themselves.
“Some opt to remain roommates and sign the leases together, while others go their separate ways and one individual takes over the lease themselves,” Ostrander said.
This is a cost-saving mechanism, according Ostrander. Since Oct. 1, 2022, 740 households have reached out for assistance. Out of those households, 347 reported having no income.
Without the grant, the city would have had to spend more than $200,000 on those individuals alone, half of which were for single-person households.
“(Per state law) the county has a responsibility to care for their indigent,” Executive Director of CCHHS Nikki Aaker said.
Instead, last year, Carson City received the HUD grant for $35,232 which provided a dozen homeless individuals and opportunity to become housed.
This saves not only the city, but taxpayers as well, as providing housing keeps individuals out of jail and the hospital emergency rooms. Providing wraparound services and case management helps in all aspects of their life, and provides a liaison for apartment managers who agree to offering their properties for the program.
“There’s a cost to not helping,” Supervisor Lisa Scheute said. “Not only is there a cost to not accepting these grants, including to the Sheriff’s Office, ambulance, fire, (and more), but there is a cost to one’s ability to not being able to find employment. If you’re looking for a job, one has to be employable. Housing increases those opportunities.”
“(The people in this program) are working their tails off to make a change in their lives,” Supervisor Maurice White said. “While I agree that ordinarily these people ought to be able to pull up their own bootstraps and get it done, they can’t. It really comes down to wash, rinse and recycle doesn’t work.”
Supervisor Staci Giomi added that the city is not taking over any programing, rather they are just helping to facilitate grants.
“We’re not taking over a program. We’re not taking people from outside our community," he said. "It helps keep people in homes and in my mind that helps stop people from being homeless and becoming a bigger burden.”
Mayor Lori Bagwell said there were many discussions in the community regarding fears of “becoming San Fransisco.”
“We’re not emulating San Fransisco,” Bagwell said. “We are looking for what is right for Carson City. (This program) is better than a general homeless shelter or a tent city. The most cost effective answer is getting people out of jails, getting them out of the ER, and it’s also the most human answer.”
Last year, the recorded homeless population in Carson City was reported at 69, according to CCHHS. Now, the new number has decreased to 30, with zero homeless veterans, and only five homeless seniors.
“In one short year, you’ve just proven to us that we’re reducing (homelessness)”, Bagwell said. “That’s usually unheard of, that the number is going down.”
Supervisors approved the acceptance of the HUD grant for $57,397 with a 25 percent city match paid for through other grant resources.
