Sarasota County to seek homeless funding

SARASOTA –– Among the lesser publicized provisions of the CARES Act was $4 billion in funding for Emergency Solutions Grants and now, Sarasota County plans to tap into those funds to help those in need locally.

In an email to county commissioners this past week, Emergency Services Director Rich Collins indicated that the county would seek $508,541 in this funding to help vulnerable populations such as the homeless or those who might be at risk of losing their homes.

Collins explained the purposes which the funding could be used in his email as “the Health Department Plan for providing quarantine and isolation for individuals as well as funding for supporting the protection of vulnerable families such as eviction assistance, rental deposits assistance, rapid rehousing, etc.”

The director then added, “It would be important as a community that we work together to ensure the care for individuals that have no place to quarantine or isolate as well as the vulnerable families who will face many challenges over the coming weeks and months.”

Collins did not indicate when the request would be made but did add that information about the grant funding had been furnished to the cities and other appropriate agencies.

According to the benefits.gov website the purpose of emergency solutions grants “is to assist individuals and families quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness.”

With county commissioners scheduled to hold a regular meeting on Wednesday, April 22, its is likely that the topic will come up when County Administrator Jonathan Lewis provides an update on the county’s COVID-19 response during his report.

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