Ventura awarded $640,000 for homelessness prevention pilot program

Ventura will help at least 100 eligible households with up to $4,000 in rental and utility assistance to ensure that people keep their housing.

The aid is possible through $640,000 in state funding awarded to the city in February that kickstarts a two-year homelessness prevention and diversion pilot program. More than $410,000 will go directly to applicants and the remaining funds cover administrative and staffing costs and associated taxes and benefits for the program.

The program is supported by California's Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention grant and supervised by the Ventura County Continuum of Care, an agency working to end homelessness.

"It is one of the kindest and least expensive ways to address and combat homelessness in our community because it gives people the right to remain in their homes," said Leona Rollins, Ventura's housing services manager.

The assistance may be in the form of either payment for back rent or up to two months of future rent to prevent evictions. It could also cover outstanding utility costs like water, trash, electricity or gas bills, costs for repairing any damages in a housing unit as well as incentives for landlords in the form of deposits.

To be eligible for the assistance, an individual or household must first live in Ventura. Aid is available regardless of immigration status.

Additionally, one of the following criteria should be met: the person is at risk of homelessness in 14 days and falls within 80% of the area's median income limit; or is an unaccompanied youth, youth with children or pregnant 18-24-year-old; or is fleeing domestic or dating violence, sexual assault or human trafficking and has no other residence.

The income limit is $74,400 a year or less for a one-person household or $85,000 or less for a two-person household.

Fifteen percent of the grant money, $96,000, is set to assist transitional-age youth between 18-24-years-old.

Residents who receive the funding once may be eligible again next year if they qualify.

Jennifer Harkey, program director for Ventura County Continuum of Care, said by email that this grant is more flexible than the county's federally funded programs. Many other programs are restricted to 30% of the area median income.

Harkey added that 2023 county data showed that 98% of households served with rental assistance remained stably housed after six months of support through case management.

According to the 2023 point-in-time homeless count, Ventura County showed an increase in the local homeless population for the fifth year in a row for a total of 2,441.

However, the city of Ventura saw a decrease last year going from 714 individuals experiencing homelessness in 2022 to 644 in 2023, Rollins said. As the point-in-time count represents only a portion of the total affected population over a year, she said that there is some room for error with the number because the agencies are not able to count every single individual and family.

Ventura Mayor Joe Schroeder said in a news release that the city has increased the number of affordable housing units by 250 and allocated over $1.5 million to combat homelessness over the past year.

Still, the need for help has been apparent. Ventura County 211, an information and referral service, reported a rise in calls for aid, with over 380 calls originating from residents within Ventura in 2022.

The city also has several partners like the Salvation Army, the National Health Foundation, Project Understanding and others that do much of the groundwork to decrease homelessness. Rollins added that previously the city was referring people to either the county's rental assistance program or to one of their nonprofit partners.

Ventura Homeless Prevention is a nonprofit that has been helping residents with up to $1,500 per household in rental assistance since 2007.

Sue Brinkmeyer, the nonprofit's board president, said that the need for rental assistance in Ventura is huge. A growing number of Ventura County residents are paying over 30% of their income in rent, which means that they can't save for emergencies, Brinkmeyer said.

"When they miss income due to illness, or job loss, or they have a major medical bill or car repair bill, things which are quite unexpected, and yet need to be dealt with, they will run out of savings and be unable to pay their rent, often before they are able to get back to work and start earning again," she said. "I am thrilled that the city was wise enough to put money into homeless prevention."

The nonprofit hopes to continue to fill the gaps in service, and Brinkmeyer added that they can help any Ventura resident regardless of income, immigration status or type of housing while other programs may have limitations along those lines.

To apply for housing-related help with the city, contact Mercy House at 805-399-9099 ext. 385 or case manager Norberto "Sal" Meza at norbertom@mercyhouse.net.

Dua Anjum is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at dua.anjum@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura gets $640,000 for homelessness prevention