districts combined, there have been 1,417 homeless students recorded in the 2022-23 school year. Tracking adult homelessness is diffi- cult, the nonprofits said. The county’s gap analysis reported the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston’s 2022 Point in Time Count that showed 38 sheltered and 43 unsheltered persons largely undercounts the number of homeless, as there are no shelters for single adults in the county. “That is the big part that we want to communicate. It is not just an afford- able housing apartment complex,” Stavinoha said. “This project includes case management, workforce develop- ment, education support—all of those things are so vitally important, and we need to make sure that we are getting to the root of each family’s challenges and their crises.” In all, the program incorporates emergency shelter; transitional housing; supervised independent liv- ing for youth aging out of foster care; and permanent housing for individ- uals with major behavioral or health needs. The highlight for nonprofit executives is a centralized resource center they plan to build within the first two years of implementation. It also would supply affordable rental housing structured as multifam- ily housing, where residents would not spend more than 30% of their pretax income on housing, as well as afford- able homeownership—which would include homebuyer education and down payment assistance programs. Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy applauded the groups’ efforts The first phase of the nonprofits’ plan to eradicate homelessness in Fort Bend County involves four immediate projects. HOUSING FIRST
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3
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1
Centralized family resource center and navigation services
Education and supportive services for the chronically homeless
Diversionary emergency grants and case management services
Project BUS transportation program
Cost: TBD Impact: Provide low or no cost mass transit to resources within the county
Cost: $1.5 million Impact: 100 families the first year
Cost: $150,000 Impact: 200 individuals in two years
Cost: $1,250 per family Impact: 30 families per year
TIMELINE OF PHASES PHASE I (1-2 YEARS) Includes: public transportation, family resource center, supportive services for chronically homeless Construction $1 million Start-up operating cost $900,000 PHASE II (2-3 YEARS) Includes: transitional housing, single- family homes, young parents program Construction $7 million Start-up operating cost $275,000
populations—such as the homeless and those at risk of homelessness, veterans, and those fleeing domestic violence. Those activities are the production or preservation of affordable hous- ing; tenant-based rental assistance; homeless prevention or housing counseling services; and the devel- opment of emergency shelter that provides private space for guests, such as motel rooms. Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers said he would rather see the ARPA funds used to reverse the coun- ty’s employee health benefits debt. He also said he did not consider the reallocation to a transitional housing program a viable use of funds. “Providing the services are not typ- ical county services,” Meyers said. “These are services that are provided by the federal and state agencies, since they have additional revenue sources that the county does not have.” After Stavinoha’s Feb. 28 presenta- tion, George again implored the court to take action on this issue. “We had $157 million from ARPA funding. We are talking about $8 million investing in the future of our children and the homeless,” George said. “If we have a hard time doing that, I don’t know what else to say.” Although McCoy expressed his support of the program, he wanted to ensure the court was clear on the funds that were left in these pots to support other initiatives important to county residents. Groff, who said he is in a “unique position” to understand some of the commissioners’ hesitation to
to encompass homeownership into its programming but said he would not support removing federal funding from other initiatives—such as $4.3 million dedicated to a broadband connectiv- ity project meant to bring high-speed internet to rural areas. “We have been let down by the state of Texas before in giving necessary funds for infrastructure, and I want to make sure we have this to be able to really help those people who, on the ground today, need that help,” he said. Current allocations The three budgets the nonprofits are requesting federal funds from are the Home American Rescue Plan, American Rescue Plan Act and Emergency Rental Assistance. The county received these one-time allocations in 2020-21 to pro- vide relief from COVID-19. The transitional housing plan would require the county to reallo- cate $8 million from its ARPA bud- get as well as the $2 million from the ERA budget commissioners approved Feb. 14, Groff said. Additionally, the nonprofits requested using $3 million from the Home American Rescue Plan budget, a portion of CDBG funding received from HUD in 2021. Borrego, who manages CDBG and Home ARP funds, advised the court that HUD money should be the last dollars considered—as restrictions for their use will be stringent, she said. Namely, the $3.32 million allo- cated to the county from the Home ARP grant can only be used with four specified activities to aid qualifying
PHASE III (3+ YEARS) Includes: multifamily housing complex, 25 tiny homes, 20 affordable housing units Construction $44 million Start-up
operating cost $275,000
Total construction: $52 million
Total start-up: $1.45 million
SOURCE: FORT BEND COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
reallocate funding, wanted to ensure the requested funds were a bid to better utilize federal moneys and not county dollars. “Let’s not send any money back [to the U.S. Treasurer] if those dollars are available,” Groff said. “Our ask is, if we can leverage those [federal] dollars to make a long-term impact in the county, then we can use this as a model for sus- tainable projects moving forward.”
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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