To: Board of Supervisors
From: DHHS: Administration
Agenda Section: Consent - Received Too Late For Review (TLFR)
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:title
Letter of Support Regarding SoHum Housing Opportunities’ Application for Funding Made Available through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program end
RECOMMENDATION(S):Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve, and authorize the Chair of the Board to sign, the attached letter of support regarding SoHum Housing Opportunities’ application for funding made available through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program; and
2. Direct the Clerk of the Board to send the letter to the California Department of Housing and community Development.
Body
STRATEGIC PLAN:
The recommended actions support the following areas of the Board of Supervisors’ Strategic Plan:
Area of Focus: Housing for All
Strategic Plan Category: 4001 - Provide housing and sheltering solutions for people experiencing homelessness
DISCUSSION:
On March 27, 2026, the California Department of Housing and Community Development announced the availability of competitive grant funding in the amount of Ninety-Three Million Dollars ($93,000,000.00) through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program. Such funding will be used to support actionable, person-centered, local proposals that meet the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s threshold requirements to provide stable housing and address the immediate health and safety needs of the individuals residing in specific encampments. Proposals must seek to resolve targeted experiences of unsheltered homelessness by addressing the safety and wellness of people within encampments, resolve critical encampment concerns and transition individuals into interim shelter with clear pathways to permanent housing or directly into permanent housing, using data-informed, non-punitive, low-barrier, person-centered, Housing First and coordinated approaches.
Cities, counties and Continuums of Care as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations are the only entities that are eligible to apply for this funding. The Humboldt Housing and Homelessness Coalition is the Continuum of Care for Humboldt County, and it has designated SoHum Housing Opportunities to apply for funding made available through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program on its behalf.
Continuum of Care applicants must obtain a letter, or letters, of support from city and/or county jurisdictions in which the encampment zone(s) or scattered sites are located. The letter of support must detail the roles and responsibilities of each participating jurisdiction and include a commitment from the jurisdictions to coordinate on any potential abatement activities. In this case, SoHum Housing Opportunities requires a letter of support from the County of Humboldt to be eligible to apply for funding made available through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program, since the encampment zone is located entirely in the unincorporated area of Humboldt County.
SoHum Housing Opportunities proposes to target an encampment zone in and around Garberville and Redway by providing interim and permanent housing interventions and housing relocation and stabilization services to twenty-eight (28) currently unsheltered residents, plus another ten (10) to fifteen (15) unsheltered residents that may move into the zone while the work is ongoing for a total of thirty-eight (38) to forty-three (43) people served at a cost of Four Million Three Hundred Forty Thousand Dollars ($4,340,000.00).
If the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors (“Board”) approves the attached letter of support, the County of Humboldt would be responsible for coordinating with SoHum Housing Opportunities on any potential abatement activities in the encampment zone. The County of Humboldt will be responsible for supporting SoHum Housing Opportunities’ utilization of the local Coordinated Entry System and Homeless Management Information System, and to collaborate with SoHum Housing Opportunities on the coordination of care and services to assist eligible individuals in accessing county-administered programs. The County of Humboldt would provide necessary permitting, inspections and occupancy reviews for interim shelter and permanent housing funded by the Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program. The County of Humboldt would leverage its existing Shelter Crisis Declaration to maximize allowable flexibility, fast-track approvals and issue necessary occupancy waivers.
Accordingly, the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services - Social Services (“DHHS - Social Services”) recommends that the Board approve, and authorize the Chair of the Board to sign, the attached letter of support regarding SoHum Housing Opportunities’ application for funding made available through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program.
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
California Department of Housing and Community Development’s Encampment Resolution Funding Program Round 5 Grant
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The receipt of grant funding made available through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program requires coordination with local agencies who will be performing services as a result of SoHum Housing Opportunities’ implementation of the grant program. SoHum Housing Opportunities is requesting a total of Four Million Three Hundred Forty Thousand Dollars ($4,340,000.00) in funding made available through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program. The County of Humboldt will not be receiving funding directly from this grant. However, the County of Humboldt may be required to perform some of the most significant services, which include, without limitation, all of the following:
• Permitting and inspection services performed by Humboldt County Planning and Building Department staff, which will be included by SoHum Housing Opportunities as allowable expenditures.
• Coordinated entry and benefit referral services performed by DHHS - Social Services, which are funded with already established state and federal allocations.
• Abatement activities performed by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office.
STAFFING IMPACT:
County of Humboldt staff already regularly coordinate with the local Continuum of Care. If SoHum Housing Opportunities is successful in receiving funding made available through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program, staff may see an increase in the activities described in the financial impact section of this item. County of Humboldt staff will not be administering this grant as that will be the responsibility of SoHum Housing Opportunities.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
California Department of Housing and Community Development; Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office; Humboldt County Planning and Building Department; Humboldt County Department of Public Works
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board may choose not to approve, and authorize the Chair of the Board to sign, the attached letter of support regarding SoHum Housing Opportunities’ application for funding made available through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program. However, this alternative is not recommended since it will not allow SoHum Housing Opportunities funding to receive grant funding that will be used to provide stable housing and address the immediate health and safety needs of the individuals residing in specific encampments.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Regarding SoHum Housing Opportunities’ Application for Funding Made Available through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program
2. Draft Application for Funding Made Available through Round 5 of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Meeting of: None
File No.: None