Last week, the Bend City Council approved approximately $330,000 for local nonprofits to develop more affordable housing and provide social services that help to address the houselessness crisis in Bend. The funding comes from two separate federal programs:
Community Development Block Grant Program
The Council approved recommendations from the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee to provide about $200,000 through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, a federal funding program that provides assistance for housing and community development activities that benefit low- and moderate-income persons, to fund five projects:
- J Bar J Youth Services for $25,000 to provide case management for youth experiencing homelessness;
- Kôr Community Land Trust for $75,000 to provide down payment assistance for four households to purchase homes in a community land trust;
- Shepherd’s House for $48,661 to support an overnight shelter serving houseless community members;
- Thrive Central Oregon for $35,760 to connect individual needs with community resources by bridging the gap for 500 community members, providing vital connection to services and support; and
- Volunteers in Medicine for $15,432 to provide 1-year of free healthcare to 20 low-, very low- or extremely low-income community members.
The funds are provided by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and are used or distributed by the City of Bend. Funding is contingent on HUD announcing the City of Bend’s funding award. These CDBG fund allocations support the City Council’s 2021-2023 Housing Goal. For more information on affordable housing in Bend, visit bendoregon.gov/affordablehousing.
Community Assistance Grant Program
The City has also selected three local non-profit organizations that will be receiving a combined $130,000 in funding through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) — Community Assistance Grant Program. The grantees, which were selected by the City Council’s Stewardship Subcommittee, met the U.S. Department of Treasury’s requirements. The recipients were:
- The Boys & Girls Club of Bend for $50,000 for program scholarships to families disproportionately impacted by COVID-19;
- KIDS Center for $50,000 for staff salary to support increase in medical evaluation service demand due to COVID-19;
- Saving Grace for $30,000 to maintain survivor navigators in response to the increase in cases and lethality due to COVID-19 stay-at-home restriction.
The program was launched to assist nonprofits that provide services to individual members of the community who were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those disproportionately impacted. This is an additional round of grant funding. For more information about initial awardees visit: City Announces Community Assistance Grant Recipients.
More information about the Community Assistance Grant Program can be found at bendoregon.gov/community-assistance.
Accommodation Information for People with Disabilities
To obtain this information in an alternate format such as Braille, large print, electronic formats, etc. please contact Joshua Romero at jromero@bendoregon.gov or 541-693-2185.
