Council Expected to Approve Plans to Help Pasadena's Homeless with $1.08 Million in Measure H Funds

The Pasadena City Council is expected to approve a number of recommendations by the Pasadena’s Department of Housing and Career Services on Monday, Jan. 14 that should lead to improved supportive services to the City’s homeless through the use of about $1.08 in Measure H funds.
Passed by Los Angeles County voters in March 2017, Measure H increased the sales tax by a quarter-cent in order to generate an estimated $355 million annually for 10 years to fund a variety of programs to combat homelessness throughout the county.
On Monday, the City Council is expected to authorize the Pasadena City Manager to enter into contracts with local non-profits – Union Station Homeless Services, Friends in Deed, and Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services – that have been selected to provide those supportive services to the homeless.
These organizations were selected out of a field of non-profit organizations, government agencies, and private businesses that responded to a Request for Proposals issued in November.
The Request for Proposal specifically categorized the requirements for four funding initiatives under Measure H, as determined by the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office: homelessness prevention for individuals, rapid re-housing for single adults, strengthening the Coordinated Entry System, and enhancing the Emergency Shelter System.
A Grant Evaluation Panel composed of non-conflicted individuals examined 14 applications in December, and through a point-based overall agency capacity and program-specific evaluation criteria decided on the three organizations to carry out the initiatives.
The Department of Housing is recommending three contracts concluding on June 30, 2020 with Union Station Homeless Services to provide rapid rehousing, coordinated entry, and emergency shelter services to people experiencing homelessness, for the total amount of $660,017.
Two contracts are being recommended for Friends In Deed, formally known as the Ecumenical Council of Pasadena Area Congregations, to provide homelessness prevention and emergency shelter services to people at-risk of or experiencing homelessness, for the total amount of $277,908.
For Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, the Department is recommending a contract to provide rapid rehousing services to transitional-age youth experiencing homelessness, in the amount of $150,000.