Congressman Panetta Announces More Than $1.6 Million in Federal Funding for Central Coast Housing

SALINAS, CA – Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) announced the distribution of $1,694,028 in federal government grants for federal housing programs in California's 20th Congressional District to help respond to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The funding for these grants is from the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Admin Fee Regular and Mainstream Voucher Program.

The CARES Act Admin Fee Regular and Mainstream Voucher Program funds will support public housing agencies as they provide housing assistance to low-income residents served by the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program. The Housing Authority of the County of Monterey received a grant totaling $648,862, and the Santa Cruz County Housing Authority received a grant totaling $1,045,166.

"Our community on the Central Coast, again, is the recipient of HUD grants that will help our public housing authorities provide reliable and affordable housing to our neighbors that need it the most," said Congressman Panetta. "Although housing insecurity is among the challenges heightened by this pandemic, Congress was able to ensure that the CARES Act addressed this issue with grants that will help our work to keep families safe and sheltered."

"This additional funding will allow the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey to continue to support our Mission and the core values of our 3P's: the people we serve. the properties we maintain, and the programs we manage," said Jose G. Gomez, Executive Director, Housing Authority of the County of Monterey.

"Funding from the CARES Act will allow Housing Authorities like ours to rapidly provide relief to families on our programs who have lost jobs and lost wages, as well as allowing us to continue providing essential services to the thousands of low-income families who rely on our assistance, and ensuring our families can remain safely housed during this crisis. We are incredibly grateful to Congressman Panetta for his relentless advocacy and continued partnership," said Jenny Panetta, Executive Director, Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz.