Council Approves $962,000 in Homeless Services Contracts Amid Fire Recovery Efforts

The City Council on Monday approved nearly $1 million in contracts with two local nonprofits to provide emergency housing and homelessness prevention services using federal disaster relief funds awarded in the wake of the Eaton Fire.

The agreements allocate $481,000 each to Friends In Deed and Union Station Homeless Services under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rapid Unsheltered Survivor Housing (RUSH) grant program.

The funding will support individuals and families at risk of or experiencing homelessness as a direct result of the fire.

Friends In Deed will offer a combination of motel-based emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, and rapid rehousing services through January 2028.

The programs will serve up to 25 at-risk households with rent assistance and arrears payments, house up to 20 displaced families in temporary motel shelters, and help another 7 to 10 homeless households transition into permanent housing.

Union Station Homeless Services will use its share of the funding to provide rapid rehousing for 10 to 15 households, with priority given to those directly impacted by the fire. Support services would include case management, move-in assistance, and medium-term rental subsidies.

The City received $1 million in RUSH funding as part of the federal Emergency Solutions Grant program to address housing needs not covered by other disaster recovery programs.