LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Behavioral Health Services was recently awarded a $75,000 technical assistance grant to prepare for the upcoming “No Place Like Home” grant opportunity that is going to California voters this November.
Lake County Behavioral Health Services is contracting with local agency Paragons LLC, which will guide the project.
Funding for No Place Like Home comes from the California Department of Housing and Community Development and is to provide permanent supportive housing for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness along with mental health and/or substance use disorders.
Lake County Behavioral Health Services already has funds available to initiate a permanent supportive housing project in the County.
“We are prepared to strategically utilize approximately $965,000 in Mental Health Services Act housing monies, along with a recently established $500,000 housing reserve account to be approved by the Board of Supervisors this fiscal year,” said Lake County Behavioral Health Services Administrator Todd Metcalf. “The timing couldn’t be better for these funds to leverage additional future housing dollars slated to be coming soon to Lake County, in particular, the No Place Like Home grant.”
The agency already is working closely with the housing Continuum of Care coalition facilitated by Adventist Health Clear Lake, along with having a seat on the Hope Rising Governing Board.
The Hope Rising Governing Board is currently working on a transitional housing project focusing on the County’s chronic homeless population.
Lake County Behavioral Health Services’ permanent supportive housing plan would be the next step for those moving through the transitional housing process.
A $2 billion dollar bond, to be repaid by Mental Health Services Act funds, will fund the No Place Like Home grant. The initiative will be put to California voters this fall.
“It is critical that Californians, especially Lake County voters, understand the high importance and value of what this can do for our homeless population suffering from substance use or mental health problems. Getting folks into stable housing has proven to be the key first step in their path to recovery,” Metcalf explained.
“This is an exciting time of opportunity in Lake County,” says Shelly Mascari, director of Community Wellness at Adventist Health and Executive Director of Hope Rising. “As our agencies, organizations and community members align behind common goals and shared initiatives we create synergy that is driving transformation throughout Lake County. The No Place Like Home grant and Lake County Behavioral Health Services’ leadership in this work is evidence of our alignment and potential.”
For more information, contact Todd Metcalf at Lake County Behavioral Health Services at 707-274-9101.