On Monday, Governor Newsom announced the second round of awards granted in Project Homekey, a program administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) that provides grant funding to cities, counties, or other local public entities within California to purchase and rehabilitate housing, as well as hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings, and other buildings and convert them into interim or permanent, long-term housing. More than $236 million will be awarded to twelve jurisdictions for 20 projects. Among the award recipients is the RCRC-member county of Shasta, which will receive nearly $2.2 million to acquire five strategically located single-family residential properties to be developed into shared housing.
Project Roomkey was launched after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in order to provide temporary safety and shelter for California’s homeless population. Allocating $550 million of the federal Coronavirus Aid Relief Funds provided to California, and an additional $50 million provided by the State, Project Homekey promises a total $600 million in funding. The first round of Homekey awards from HCD, totaling $76 million, was announced last week. Additional awards are expected weekly until all $600 million has been awarded.
Resources are available for jurisdictions planning to apply or developing spending plans for Homekey funds. This summer, the California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council released a Guide to Strategic Uses of Key State and Federal Funds to Reduce Homelessness During the COVID-19 Pandemic. They also produced a short 29 minute Strategic Funding Guide Webinar that walks through the different elements of the guide, how to use it, and recommendations for grantees and local governments developing their own spending plans. All applications for Homekey funding are due by September 29, 2020. Detailed information about Project Homekey is available on the HCD website here.