Title
Supervisor Thomas recommending the Board consider the following:
1) Allocate up to $115,000 for The Winter Lodging Program with Housing El Dorado to provide one-time funding support for the Nomadic Shelter, and finding that such funding will provide a public benefit by housing vulnerable citizens and preserving life;
2) Direct staff to work with the El Dorado Food Bank to see if they can supply any needed items, thereby reducing General Fund impact; and
3) Direct staff to return on February 8, 2022 with a budget transfer from General Fund Contingency along with a Funding Agreement with El Dorado Community Foundation as the fiscal agent for Housing El Dorado for Board approval.
FUNDING: General Fund Contingency.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
As El Dorado Opportunity Knocks Continuum of Care (EDOK CoC) anticipates the release of the Strategic Plan on homelessness as well as progress on the development of a potential Navigation Center with an emergency shelter component or a Pallet community run by a professional service provider, community partners have stepped up once again to fill the gap on available shelter during the winter months.
The Winter Lodging Program through Housing El Dorado is operating as a Nomadic Shelter this year for our homeless neighbors. This program relies solely on a few small grants as well as community donations through a fund established with the El Dorado Community Foundation, and their volunteer board is stretched thin with running programs, fundraising and advocacy. Host sites for the shelter program include four nights at four different churches and a City of Placerville Building for three nights, which was added on December 26, 2021 in response to the harsh winter. The additional support would now provide for seven nights a week of shelter for our homeless residents, and shelter services will continue through March 31, 2022.
Prior to the City of Placerville stepping up to offer a building for shelter, the Winter Lodging ...
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