The City of Peoria will provide Phoenix Community Development Services with a gap payment to cover some operational costs for New Hope Apartments.
The permanent supportive housing facility for 84 formerly unsheltered residents operates on two annually awarded federal grants.
The grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] are normally dispersed March 1 and April 1. But delays in receiving this year’s grants have resulted in a shortfall of about $70,000.
During its meeting Tuesday, the Peoria City Council approved a measure to award Phoenix a grant to help New Hope residents cover those income-based rental subsidies.
No one voted against the measure. Zach Oyler was absent and Tim Riggenbach abstained due to a family connection to the Peoria Opportunities Foundation, a co-recipient of the federal funding.
“We have two federal grants that are kind of held up, with what's happening on federal public scene. They were grants that were awarded by HUD back in January, and they just have not yet been executed,” Phoenix CEO Christine Kahl told WCBU.
“Basically that means there's a cash shortage to continue paying the bills, such as the utility bills and personnel costs and things like that. So this is simply meant to be funds to cover the gap that, when the grants show up, then the city will be repaid for the amount.”
Community Development Director Joe Dulin told the council that Kate Green from the Home For All Continuum of Care indicated there had been some recent traction toward seeing the federal grants allocated.
“When they do receive the grants — and every indication is that they will receive the grants, it's just a matter of when — we’ll be reimbursed back for this $70,000,” said Dulin.
If for some reason the grants do not come through or are for a lower amount, the city would tap into its budgeted amount for addressing homelessness.
Kahl said the HUD grants collectively pay for 49 of the 84 units at the complex.
“New Hope Apartments is the one permanent supportive housing program in the higher range of housing programs that are available in our community that serve the most difficult to serve population: very high acuity, with behavioral health issues, with chronic medical conditions,” said Kahl.
“This is our most vulnerable population. This is not a population that we need to see return to homelessness.”
$200K Lula funding approved
The council also formally approved a three-pronged measure that will provide Lula NFP with more than $200,000 to keep its pop-up motel shelter for unhoused individuals operational through the end of June.
Dulin said the hope with the funding extension is that it will give social service agencies more time to help those still residing in the hotel shelter find more permanent housing.
“We understand that June 30 might come around, and there might still be people at the motel that we have not, they have not been able to find housing for,” said Dulin. “But we hope, with some applications that they have and some other placement, hopefully they can get 30 or 40 of those individuals into housing. This just provides them a little more leeway to do it.”
The plan facilitated by the Home For All Continuum of Care calls for the city to accept a grant of $204,872 from the Heart of Illinois United Way, then award that amount to Lula.
That required separate council votes to approve both actions, as well as a budget amendment to reflect the grant receipt.
“Thank you on behalf of Lula and all the people that you've given the opportunity to seek permanent housing,” said Kshe Bernard, the organization’s co-founder, during the public comments portion of the meeting. “I can tell you, they know when this vote is happening, and it's a big energy day on Tuesdays when this vote is up.”
