CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The City of Corpus Christi is ready to pour more than $3.3 million into our community to help those who are most at-risk, but to do that, they need a little help of their own.
Through a simple online application, city leaders are inviting local groups to help them spend that money wisely over the next five years.
"It’s really exciting for the community because this is the largest investment into reducing homelessness that we’ve ever been able to do," Assistant Director of Corpus Christi’s Planning and Community Development Department Jennifer Buxton said.
That investment comes courtesy of both federal and state dollars, including American Rescue Plan funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Homeless Housing and Services Program from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. It is money that can be used to reduce homelessness here and help fill the gap for those who have housing and need help keeping it.
But it goes beyond that.
"It’s a new program that’s not just serving those who are on the street and homeless, it is also serving people who are fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, trafficking," Buxton said.
This money will help provide support for people who are trying to get through each day in hopes of building a better future.
"For these qualifying populations, supportive services are key," she said. "That means case management, help with transportation and finding jobs, mental health services, childcare -- anything that can help that household stabilize."
Local organizations who want to help administer this money can fill out the application found on the City’s website. From there, recommendations will be taken to the City Council, who will then award contracts.
"Because this is federal and state funding, we’re going to be looking at their qualifications and experience," Buxton said. "Do they have the capacity to run these programs? Have they served people in these capacities before? What’s their track record, are they successful when operating these programs?"
To see that groups are ready to administer such a sizeable amount of money, some of it can also be used to help them train or even increase their staff.
Any organization interested in helping get this money out into the community should apply before the 11:59 p.m. deadline on Aug. 28.
To learn more, contact Rich Penksa at RichP@cctexas.com or (361) 826-3970.