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11 <br /> 1 Orange County Board of Commissioners <br /> 2 SEAL <br /> 3 <br /> 4 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Price to <br /> 5 adopt the resolution awarding funds for the 2020 Affordable Housing Bond Program, and <br /> 6 authorize the Board Chair to sign the Resolution. <br /> 7 <br /> 8 Chair Rich called each Commissioner by name (roll call). <br /> 9 <br /> 10 VOTE: Ayes, 5 (Commissioner Bedford, Commissioner Greene, Commissioner McKee, <br /> 11 Commissioner Price, Commissioner Dorosin); Nays, 2 (Chair Rich and Commissioner <br /> 12 Marcoplos) <br /> 13 <br /> 14 MOTION PASSES 5-2 <br /> 15 <br /> 16 c. Emergency Housing Assistance Program Update and Request for Supplemental <br /> 17 Funding <br /> 18 The Board received an update on the work of the Housing Department in pandemic <br /> 19 response through the Emergency Housing Assistance fund, and considered voting to approve <br /> 20 the transfer of$100,000 from the Local Rent Supplement Program to the Emergency Housing <br /> 21 Assistance Program to provide additional funding for ongoing eviction prevention activities that <br /> 22 are not eligible costs under other programs. <br /> 23 <br /> 24 Emila Sutton, Director of Housing and Community Development, reviewed the item <br /> 25 below: <br /> 26 <br /> 27 BACKGROUND: <br /> 28 In March 2020, at the onset of the public health crisis caused by COVID-19 and seeing the need <br /> 29 for increased housing assistance for those impacted, the Orange County Housing Department <br /> 30 and staff from the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough began discussions on how <br /> 31 to combine our existing eviction prevention and housing stabilization efforts to best serve <br /> 32 residents. Staff from all jurisdictions agreed that combining existing efforts into one program, <br /> 33 with one application process and singular policies, would improve provision of emergency <br /> 34 housing assistance throughout the County. The Emergency Housing Assistance program (or <br /> 35 "EHA") was created as a result, and Orange County began administering eviction prevention <br /> 36 and housing stabilization funds on behalf of the Towns as well as the County (see Attachment <br /> 37 1). At the same time, the Department also began managing Coordinated Entry for the <br /> 38 community— providing an efficient and evidence-based method of serving those experiencing a <br /> 39 housing crisis. The Department renamed and rebranded Coordinated Entry as the "Housing <br /> 40 Helpline" so residents more readily understood how assistance could be requested. Both of <br /> 41 these programs saw an exponential increase in demand quickly after the pandemic hit, and both <br /> 42 programs scaled up quickly in order to meet the increasing demand (see Attachment 2). <br /> 43 <br /> 44 One way the program successfully and quickly scaled up to meet the need was by requesting <br /> 45 assistance and partnership from local non-profits. Several organizations stepped up to help, to <br /> 46 include El Centro Hispano, Refugee Community Partnership, Community Home Trust, <br /> 47 EmPOWERment, and the Community Empowerment Fund, as well as other Orange County <br /> 48 Departments such as Family Success Alliance (Health Department), Department on Aging, and <br /> 49 Department of Social Services (see Attachment 3). <br /> 50 <br />