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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: November 15, 2022 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 6-a <br /> SUBJECT: Emergency Housing Assistance (EHA) Program Evaluation and Options for <br /> Next Steps <br /> DEPARTMENT: Housing <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> EHA Program Options Corey Root, Housing Director, (919) 245- <br /> 2490 <br /> PURPOSE: To receive an update on the Emergency Housing Assistance (EHA) program and <br /> options for next steps for program eligibility and services provided. <br /> BACKGROUND: Starting in the fall of 2019, County and Town Housing staff worked <br /> collaboratively to consolidate four different emergency housing assistance programs to streamline <br /> program access, as well as program eligibility and services offered. This program expanded <br /> rapidly in later months in response to the great need for housing and utility assistance with the <br /> onset of COVID-19 in March 2020 and the lockdowns that followed. The EHA program has used <br /> many different funding sources since its inception, including CARES Act funding from local, state, <br /> and federal sources, the HOPE 1.0 program, Community Development Block Grant CARES Act <br /> funding (CDBG-CV), and the program is currently using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) <br /> funding. The County has a $4.4 million in remaining APRA funds that must be allocated by <br /> December 2024 and expended by December 2026. <br /> Between January 2020 and September 2022, the EHA program has assisted 2,593 households <br /> in Orange County, providing $13.7 million in rent and utility assistance. 49% of the households <br /> served are Black/African American, 19% are Latine, 8% are multiracial, and 18% <br /> White/Caucasian. Of the households served, 74% are at extremely low income at 30% Area <br /> Median Income (AMI) and below, 21.5% are very low income at 50% AMI and below, and 4.5% <br /> are low income up to 60% AMI. These households were primarily located within the Towns of <br /> Chapel Hill (49%), Carrboro (28%) and Hillsborough (11%), and 24% were located in the <br /> unincorporated parts of Orange County. <br /> Funding demands for the Emergency Housing Assistance program for FY 2022-23 will exceed <br /> available budgeted funds. At the same time, communities across the country are scaling back <br /> emergency rent assistance programs as COVID-related funding sources are depleted. Housing <br /> Department staff have worked with the Housing Directors for the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, <br /> and Hillsborough, and consulted best practices nationally and developed three Options for <br /> continuation of the Emergency Housing Assistance program: <br /> 1. Keeping the program eligibility and services offered largely the same to provide income <br /> support for low-income households <br />