Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Manager
Subject: Team of the Month for January 2022
RECOMMENDATION:
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Honor the multi-departmental HomeKey Grant Team as the Team of the Month for January 2022 and authorize the President of the Board to sign the commendation.
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BACKGROUND:
The Team of the Month program was established in September 2018 to recognize and honor County teams who consistently demonstrate an outstanding level of performance.
Our Team of the Month for January 2022 includes members of the Department of Housing, Human Services Agency, Real Property Division, County Counsel’s Office, Project Development Unit, Human Resources Department, and the County Manager’s Office.
Team members include: Ken Cole, Raymond Hodges, Rose Cade, Tracy Choi, Gina Russell, Barbara Deffenderfer, Bryan Briggs, Ronak Moradi, Don Grady, John Beiers, Adam Ely, Timothy Fox, Monali Sheth, Brian Wong, John Nibbelin, Ana Morales, Brooke Lewellyn, Jennifer Wang, Khalia Parish, Lody Saba, Tammie Sweetser, Jacinta Arteaga, Maggie Wong, Ada Huang, Selina Toy Lee, Jessica Silverberg, Joanna Bell, Matthew Hayes, Mark Skubik, Michelle Durand, Shireen Malekafzali, Scott Johnson, Connie Juarez-Diroll, Roberto Manchia, Jasmine Gao, and Sam Lin.
DISCUSSION:
In 2020, the State of California initiated the HomeKey grant program to help cities and counties construct and purchase housing for residents experiencing homelessness. The 2021 program was a competitive process where each application was ranked against other applications. The County received funding that assisted with the purchase of three hotels in 2021.
The 2021 HomeKey award process was changed to "first come, first awarded" so early application submission was key to receiving funding in this second round. Over 30 staff from eight County departments spent countless hours under a very tight deadline preparing two applications for 2021 HomeKey funding. The applications requested $68 million to fully fund the development and initial operation of the County Navigation Center for residents experiencing homelessness and the purchase of a 44-unit Stone Villa Inn hotel, to also provide housing for residents experiencing homelessness.
The HomeKey Grant Team, coordinated by Tracy Choi in the Department of Housing, did a remarkable job preparing two complete and very competitive applications for the State’s HomeKey funds. Team members worked over weekends, prepared Board agenda item in two days and arranged very difficult to schedule mandatory meetings with state HomeKey staff as soon as appointments were available. The Team submitted two applications which were the second and third applications received by the State. All of this work was rewarded when Governor Newsom called County Manager Mike Callagy on December 14, 2021 to say that both applications would be fully funded, a $68 million award.
The new housing for residents experiencing homelessness was made possible with the HomeKey award, which will improve the lives of over 300 people experiencing homelessness over the next year, and many more in future years. The hard work of the HomeKey Grant Team will significantly improve the lives of many county residents most in need of assistance.
Our County is fortunate to have employees willing to meet the challenge of a complex grant application process under significant time constraints to assist our most vulnerable residents. I am pleased to recognize the HomeKey Grant Team as the January 2002 Team of the Month.