San Luis Obispo County will not receive up to $5 million in newly available state funds to create housing for homeless individuals with mental illnesses, after a failed search for property forced the county to take itself out of the running.
Transitions-Mental Health Association (TMHA), the lone group to step forward to work with the county on the grant, had its eye on a 12-unit apartment complex in North County that it hoped to convert into permanent supportive housing units for the homeless.
But negotiations on a sale fell through, and the property sold to another entity. With a Jan. 30 application deadline, TMHA said it was unable to secure an alternate location in time. Joe Madsen, TMHA’s housing director, told New Times that the uncertainty around the competitive grant process and the delay in receiving funds were factors in the breakdown.
“Prices here are climbing and properties are selling so fast. … We haven’t found too many landlords who were willing to wait six months [for the grant],” Madsen said.
The grants are part of the state’s No Place Like Home Program—enabled by voters’ approval of Proposition 2 in 2018—and the first round of funding made $400 million available statewide. Counties were given between Oct. 30 and Jan. 30 to gain “site control” of property and submit grant applications.
SLO County Behavioral Health Director Anne Robin said the state’s tight application window and other constraints, like finding available apartments (single-family homes weren’t eligible) close to transit and city services, made the pursuit challenging for small, rural counties like SLO.
“TMHA tried hard,” Robin said. “The time frame was really short for something this large.”
Robin said she’d work with state officials on trying to make the process more friendly and flexible to SLO for the next round of grants, which will open in August.
“We missed the first round; there will be other rounds,” she said. “The state wanted to get the dollars out there and some larger counties may have had things ready to roll.”
Madsen, with TMHA, noted that the additional time will allow the organization to explore its options and be better positioned for success.
“Having more time would be great … and having landlords a little bit more prepared,” Madsen said. “We have a really great network of landlords for today, but for tomorrow we definitely need more community support. More and better landlord relationships will turn the tide with this.” Δ
This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 10, 2019.
I applaud the State of CA for getting these monies out to their counties and, Yes, there was a short turn around, but the history of Prop 2 going to the voters and that these monies would be available, one would think, would give the county and organizations the impetus to step forward & work together to get the grant in. It is a sad commentary that SLO County has missed out on 5 M to help solve the homeless issue.
More monies will be coming forward and as a concerned citizen, I hope the County will take some responsibility along with homeless organizations, etc. to be better prepared to have a grant ready to go to assist those with less and get many back into the world of work with training and homes.
Lee perkins
Simply inexcusable to have let that 5 million dollar grant get by, granted that the window of opportunity was more limited than ideal, it did coincide time wise with the overdue urgency to push forward with getting some new established housing for the homeless. To have settled on a plan without a back-up plan to meet the deadline was a short sided vision with a lackluster approach to secure that 5 million grant to get the ball rolling on housing for the homeless. At this point it appears that our county can’t even put in the needed efforts in, even when the money is practically handed to them to do the duty… Showing once again the homeless are not a priority after all….
Outside of verifiable veterans of foreign war, 86 the mentally ill homeless out of this county. Problem solved! (wipes hands together)
My vast tax dollars are not for the non contributing person.
Next we’ll all be fighting typhoid carrying, flea infested homeless because you care so much.
Get them out of here. Do NOT entice them to remain homeless or stay in this area!
Wow this is inexcusable. Everyone knows slo does not want to provide social services hardly, let alone housing for homeless. Theyd rather keep some idealized image of prosperity and the American dream although anyone thats lived in slo knows the town has its problems just like any other. To simply wipe your hands clean and 5 MILLION dollars for this cause is atrocious and exactly opposite of the Christian small town values it claims to hold. Do better slo, do better shame shame shame