5 days ago
Napa launches rental aid program as federal housing cuts threaten families
Esmerelda Gill and her team at Puertas Abiertas, a longstanding nonprofit serving the Latino community in Napa Valley, see the daily needs of low-income residents looking for help.
"If they don't have housing, they don't have a lot of food security or health security, so there's a lot of need for there to be assistance, especially for agricultural workers," Gill said.
She said that federal, county, and city grants can often be the difference in a family staying housed or ending up on the streets.
It's a critical time for many who work in agriculture and impact Napa's economy.
"Harvest is coming up. If they don't feel safe or secure, then there's a lot of different effects it can have on our community," Gill said.
Molly Rattigan is the deputy city manager of Napa who oversees its housing division.
In response to recent federal cuts to emergency housing vouchers, the Napa City Council and housing authority approved a new rental assistance program using up to $250,000 a year from local housing dollars to help up to 15 households.
"What we're trying to do is create a stopgap while we look for longer-term solutions, while we maintain households in their existing housing," Rattigan said.
She says the city has implemented programs using federal dollars and has seen its homeless rate in the last two years drop by almost 36%.
"As some federal programs are coming to an end and federal regulations are changing, these regulations and changes put these households at risk," Rattigan said.
The city says 49 Napa households rely on the emergency vouchers that are ending, and that 18 additional families depend on other programs at risk.
Housing advocates like Gill are deeply concerned.
"If there's more cuts, then more families are going to be without housing, it's going to cause more issues and strain on their emotional and mental well-being. If they have kids, it causes another level of concern too," Gill said.
The city says the new program will help families that are already receiving aid and are about to lose it, but not new applicants.
