A change in federal funding for homeless charities coupled with how the state distributes the money has three Sonoma County nonprofits facing a $1 million shortfall that could reduce their hours, staffing and number of programs.
Catholic Charities, Committee on the Shelterless (COTS) and InterFaith Shelter Network were bouyed this month by an $800,000 check from the county board of supervisors for the upcoming fiscal year. That infusion stanched the shortfall, but leaves the organizations unsure of future funding.
Between fiscal years 2015-16 and 2016-17, Sonoma County’s portion of federal monies disbursed through California Emergency Solutions Grants dropped nearly 80 percent, from $1.2 million to $239,000.
The cut came from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development changing its focus away from transitional housing programs like those offered by the three Sonoma County nonprofits. Then California’s Department of Housing and Community Development changed its awarding of the ESG money from a competitive basis to a per capita one within each of the state’s 58 counties, regardless of programming.
“We were all kind of in shock because it seemed to be such an inequitable distribution,” said Pamela Wallace, executive director of the InterFaith Shelter Network. “It just seems to really be an uninformed decision on their part.”
Last year, her Santa Rosa-based organization received $200,000. This year, the three organizations are expected to split a little more than that — $239,000 — among themselves. According to COTS’ CEO Mike Johnson, the decline was the largest cut among California counties.
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