Agenda 04-05-22; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

11 1 Chair Price said that diversity on the boards has been an issue for years. She said it is 2 an issue of communication and feeling comfortable on the board. She said that is some of the 3 feedback she has gotten over the years. She said some people are fine being the only woman 4 or person of color on a board, but others do not. She said they have to encourage people to get 5 on board and raise their voices. 6 Frances Castillo one of the issues is the time and places that boards are meeting. She 7 said some are set up to be inaccessible. She said this prevents people from being on certain 8 boards. 9 Chair Price said some of it really has been that people do not want to be bothered if they 10 do not feel they will be comfortable. 11 Corey Root presented on behalf of the Orange County Housing Authority Board. She 12 said the board is currently without a chair or vice chair, so she was presenting for them. She 13 said the board has gone through a lot of changes. She said the first substantial change is they 14 have increased the number of leases. She said they have issued a high number of vouchers. 15 She said they are being used in collaboration with the Partnership to End Homelessness. She 16 said they have identified people exiting homelessness and they meet criteria to receive those 17 vouchers. She said there are over one hundred households that have been issued vouchers. 18 She said that there are not enough affordable housing units in the community to meet the need. 19 She said that structured support in housing searches is also being provided. She said that HUD 20 made additional vouchers available and Orange County qualified for nineteen of those. She said 21 that the guidelines are exactly what Orange County is already doing. She said three of the 22 nineteen are leased. She said that the housing vouchers come with a service fee that they can 23 use for furniture or household goods. She said they are working to lower barriers for those with 24 vouchers. She said they are working to make it more accessible and understandable. She said 25 they have reduced their voucher package to three pages for recertification with HUD to make it 26 kinder to clients who are in need. She said the previous version was ten pages with a lot of 27 scary language. She said they are trying to reduce the paperwork in all their programs. 28 Commissioner Bedford asked what permanent supportive housing is. 29 Corey Root said permanent supportive housing is a model to address needs for those 30 who have experienced chronic homelessness and who also have a disability. She said it is 31 housing subsidies with an addition of services. She said the people who provide services have 32 one of the toughest jobs in Orange County. She said some people have trouble finding units, 33 even with vouchers. She said affordable housing is moving towards a mixed income type of 34 housing. 35 Jenn Sykes presented for the Affordable Housing Advisory Board. She said they are 36 involved in outside agency funding review. She said they work on community engagement to 37 help residents understand what is available to them. She said they believe that housing is a key 38 component for having a healthy life. She said they review action plans for federal HOME funds 39 and expand partnerships within the community. She said that next year they also want to 40 engage with criminal justice and immigrant refugee partners. She said they want to increase 41 financial support for affordable housing. She said they want to remain engaged with local 42 governments as they discuss affordable housing. She said they consult and review the 43 proposed land uses for the Greene Tract. She said they are also aligning with the county-wide 44 racial equity plan. 45 Commissioner Richards asked if the board was involved with the Big Bold Idea housing 46 committee. 47 Jenn Sykes said that Corey Root is a member of that committee. 48 Commissioner Richards asked if Corey Root will report back to the Board of 49 Commissioners on that committee. 50 Corey Root said she is not sure at this time how this information will be shared.