The program has continued to gain momentum in the last fiscal year. The program, which was expanded last year to the Santa Clara Valley, continues to grow in order to meet the ever increasing needs of families and individuals within Ventura County. According to the 10-Year Strategy to End Homelessness for Ventura County, 6,000 people experience homelessness within the county in one year, and on any given day 83 families (with three persons per household) are living on the streets. The Homeless Prevention Task Force for Ventura County recently determined that helping households maintain their housing is crucial to the long-term goal of ending the cycle of homelessness that faces 2,000 households within Ventura County in one year.
Project Understanding was chosen to be one of three agencies that will distribute funds raised by the city of Ventura to assist residents of Ventura to maintain their housing through the provision of rental assistance. Project Understanding has been dedicated to providing rental assistance to residents throughout the county of Ventura and will continue to do so as part of this strategic plan.
The rental assistance program is designed to either assist families who are currently homeless get into permanent housing or to prevent families from being evicted from their permanent housing. Rental assistance is provided to families in the form of a one-time grant that funds a maximum of one month’s rent. The funding is awarded to families who have an income that would typically sustain them but experience an unexpected circumstance that makes it impossible to pay rent. Funding can also be used to assist families with the first month’s rent once the deposit for housing has been paid. Families must complete a thorough application process and work closely with the housing case manager to ensure that the appropriate referrals are in place so that the family is stabilized.
This year, Project Understanding assisted 172 people either attain or maintain permanent housing through the provision of rental assistance. One such family was a two-parent household with two teenage children. The family was dependent on two incomes to pay rent, so when one parent unexpectedly lost his job the family found themselves on the verge of eviction. Both parents were employed again by the end of the month, but without a grant to assist with the payment of rent, the family would have lost their housing before having a chance to catch up. This is just one of the many families who are in need of assistance due to unforeseen circumstances and a quick turn of events.
Though Project Understanding continues to increase the level of assistance that is provided to families throughout Ventura County, there are still many families that do not receive the much needed assistance due to a lack of funding available. It is through donations such as yours that this assistance is available to the members of your community. Thank you for your continued support of this program.