The fight against homelessness in Evanston could soon get an $800,000 boost from federal stimulus money.
Evanston has until May 18 to submit a grant proposal to the federal government. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has allotted $810,460 for the city, but it needs to see a preliminary spending plan before distributing the funds.
Meeting Tuesday evening, the Evanston Human Services Committee approved an updated action plan on homelessness that will constitute the grant application. During discussion of the action plan, Ald. Edmund Moran (6th) stressed the importance of spending the funds wisely.
“This is a huge amount of money and an important amount of money,” Moran said.
The stimulus funds are aimed at prevention and can be used to offset rent, utility payments and temporary hotel or motel stays. Only residents with incomes under 50 percent of the national average are eligible to receive aid.
The funds are expected to arrive Sept. 1, and cities will need to spend them within three years, said Evonda Thomas, the city’s health and human services director. Thomas said she expects Evanston to spend its allotment within two years.
The high cost of living in Evanston makes distributing the funds particularly challenging, said Jonathan Webb, management analyst for Evanston Health and Human Services.
“$800,000 can be used pretty quickly, given the cost of housing in the Evanston community,” Webb said.
The city’s action plan calls for distributing the money through existing structures, including programs run by Connections for the Homeless and the Evanston Alliance on Homelessness.
“What we’ve been encouraged by HUD to do is not reinvent the wheel, and work through existing structures,” Webb said.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Ald. Lionel Jean-Baptiste (2nd) said it was important the funds reach Evanston residents without making the city a haven for homeless residents in nearby communities.
Tuesday also marked the end of a mandatory 12-day period of public comments on Evanston’s action plan. Thomas said the grant coordinators incorporated several of the suggestions they received into the proposal.
The Human Services Committee agreed it was important to keep administrative costs down to maximize the funding’s impact. In explaining the demand for assistance, Mayor-elect Elizabeth Tisdahl referenced her conversations with Connections for the Homeless, which runs the city’s largest shelter and a daytime outreach program.
“There’s enough need up there to gobble up this money,” Tisdahl said.
