Orange County NC Website
6 <br /> The Fund provides assistance in three (3) activity areas: <br /> o Risk Mitigation (for landlords only) <br /> o Housing Stabilization (provision of assistance for security deposits, <br /> utility connections and rental payments) <br /> o Displacement Mitigation Due to an Urgent Community Need <br /> • Held in both 2017 and 2018, successful engagement meetings with landlords <br /> participating in the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Thirty (30) landlords participated <br /> in 2017 and fifty (50) participated in 2018. <br /> For a complete listing of Orange County's housing and community development programs and <br /> services, see Attachment 1 b-4. <br /> c) Other Current Collaboration Activities <br /> Besides monthly joint meetings between the applicable senior staff, other collaborative activities <br /> during the past year include the following: <br /> • Ongoing municipal and county assistance for voucher holders, i.e. security deposits and <br /> utility connections. While each of the municipalities provides the assistance either <br /> through DSS, the Community Empowerment Fund or directly to applicable vendors, the <br /> rental assistance is jurisdiction-specific. Orange County revised its program to include <br /> referrals from the Partnership to End Homelessness's coordinated entry program and <br /> most recently the Orange County Criminal Justice Resource Department. These <br /> additions would help ensure that "gaps" in services are being mitigated. <br /> • The role of the former HOME Review Committee was expanded in 2017, approved by <br /> the various Orange County jurisdictions and the Committee is now known as the Orange <br /> County Local Government Affordable Housing Collaborative. See Attachment 1 c. <br /> • The Collaborative meets quarterly and is comprised of elected officials and applicable <br /> senior staff from each of the jurisdictions. It still reviews and makes recommendations <br /> regarding the HOME Program and has also begun to take a more strategic approach to <br /> reviewing broader affordable housing issues in the County. A listing of the issues will be <br /> discussed in the Section <br /> • The flooding of Camelot Village—The County and municipalities shared information and <br /> kept each other informed as to the provision of assistance for residents who were <br /> displaced due to flooding from Hurricane Florence. The various municipalities <br /> coordinated with Orange County EMS, Department of Social Services, Housing and <br /> Community Development and others, as applicable. <br /> Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the governing boards can discuss <br /> issues and provide feedback to staff related to this item as necessary. <br /> Attachment 1 c— Orange County Local Government Affordable Housing <br /> Collaborative Resolution <br /> d) Future Collaboration Framework <br /> As mentioned earlier in the document, the Orange County Affordable Housing Local <br /> Government Collaborative is the body undertaking a more strategic approach in regard to <br /> intergovernmental partnerships as it relates to the alleviation of affordable housing issues. The <br /> Collaborative seeks to identify common areas of interest where the jurisdictions can leverage <br /> their knowledge, skills, lessons learned and outcomes. Along with the other mandates of the <br />