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35 <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked if the funds for the $250,000 long-term housing assistance <br /> program have been exhausted. <br /> Kirk Vaughn said those funds are exhausted now. <br /> Commissioner Greene said the reduction to $2 million is not a surprise, but it is very sad. <br /> She said she does not know what can be done, if anything, but wants to make sure that community <br /> partners know about this. She said that it is unfortunate that they are at this point. <br /> Corey Root said there is a robust communications plan and sessions are planned with <br /> service providers and clients. <br /> Commissioner Richards asked the number before COVID. <br /> Corey Root said there were four different programs and that now all four jurisdictions have <br /> a joint program. She said that it was far less than $1 million. <br /> Commissioner Richards said it would be good to have that perspective since that they are <br /> trying to meet an ongoing need. <br /> Commissioner Greene said she thinks the need is greater and COVID exposed it. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if they are only providing assistance to folks who are <br /> already getting housing assistance. <br /> Travis Myren said no, and they would have to be actively being evicted or exiting <br /> homelessness for them to receive rental assistance. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if they already have a housing choice voucher. <br /> Corey Root said there may be a few with vouchers served by EHA, but not likely going <br /> forward. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if those receiving help are already receiving some <br /> other form of service. <br /> Corey Root said this would largely benefit people with low service needs. She said it is <br /> security deposit or first month's rent. She said those with higher service needs require case <br /> management and other services. She said that because there are a finite number of resources, <br /> they want to provide enough money to assist the client, but they can't afford to spend more than <br /> just enough. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton said part of the difficulty with housing issues is that so many <br /> people can be affected in different ways. She said that the COVID shock to the economy, people <br /> could not go to work, and they hope they will be able to go back to work. She said then there are <br /> more individual issues that may cause homelessness. She said in this community, it is more <br /> structural with rising housing costs and increased demand to the community from outside Orange <br /> County. She said this is a lot harder to deal with because it is a change that the county does not <br /> have the resources to fix, and it is ongoing. She said that she wants more information on what <br /> factors are causing people to reach out for services. <br /> Corey Root said the structural piece is hard to overestimate. She said people are buying <br /> properties and turning them into luxury units. She said that data shows that every 6 seconds a <br /> new household moves to the Triangle from a much higher housing cost market. She said that the <br /> structural piece is intense. <br />