Skip to main content

Congressman Panetta Announces More Than $5.8 Million in Federal Funding to Combat Homelessness on the Central Coast

June 10, 2020

SALINAS, CA – Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) announced the distribution of $5,814,926 in federal government grants to the city of Salinas to support homeless Americans and individuals at risk of becoming homeless because of hardships such as job loss, wage reduction, or illness due to COVID-19. The funding for these grants is from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program. This is the second allocation of CARES Act funding through the ESG program (ESG-CV2).

"Once again, our community is the recipient of a significant amount of relief funding due to the bipartisan CARES Act that we passed in Congress. This time, the grant will go to assisting those who are experiencing homelessness on the Central Coast," said Congressman Panetta. "Such funding can help make a difference now as we work stem the spread of COVID-19 and stimulate long-term solutions for addressing homelessness in the future."

The funding allocated can be used to:

  • Make more emergency shelters available for homeless individuals and families.
  • Operate emergency shelters by providing food, rent, security, maintenance, repair, fuel, equipment, insurance, utilities, furnishings, and supplies necessary for their operation.
  • Provide Hotel/Motel Vouchers for homeless families and individuals.
  • Provide essential services to people experiencing homelessness including childcare, education services, employment assistance, outpatient health services, legal services, mental health services, substance abuse treatment services, and transportation.
  • Prevent individuals from becoming homeless and rapidly rehouse homeless individuals.