St. Joseph County Housing Consortium

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organizations). • The City of South Bend publishes a Notice of Funding Opportunity with Request for Proposals annually to be submitted for consideration during the Annual Action Plan process. Proposals are evaluated and preference is given to those which address the following: • Priority is given to agencies that are actively involved in the Regional Planning Council; • Allow for the use of ESG Program funds so that as many homeless individuals and families as possible will be assisted; • Demonstrate a commitment to the project in terms of time,effort,resources,etc.; • Include a realistic,detailed financial package that documents the ability of the applicant entity to match the Emergency Solutions Grant funds and demonstrates the ability to leverage financing from other sources.(Expenditures should be explained); • Describe the nature and extent of the (documented) unmet homeless need within the applicant's jurisdiction and detailed extent to which the proposed activities address the need; • Provide the ability of the applicant entity to carry out the proposed activities within the 2023 program year; • Demonstrate effectiveness in serving the homeless, including the ability to establish, maintain, and/or improve the self-sufficiency of homeless individuals; • Timeliness of reimbursement requests/draw requests will be considered for currently or previously funded entities;and, • The City of South Bend has the final decision-making authority on the selection of proposals to be funded. • The City of South Bend recognizes that it is a HUD policy that,within the framework of constitutional church-state guidelines, faith-based organizations should be able to compete on an equal footing with other organizations for Federal funding. Accordingly, organizations that are faith-based are eligible,on the same basis as any other organization,to participate in HUD programs and activities,and therefore the City of South Bend's HUD-funded programs and activities. • The City is a member of the Regional Planning Council and works closely with them and the agencies involved to ensure that policies and procedures, as well as funding allocations,are in line with the best practices for those with needs in the community. • 4. If the jurisdiction is unable to meet the homeless participation requirement in 24 CFR 576.405(a), the jurisdiction must specify its plan for reaching out to and consulting with homeless or formerly homeless individuals in considering policies and funding decisions regarding facilities and services funded under ESG. The Region 2a RPC continues to strive to maintain active participation by a person or persons with lived experience. The RPC has an outreach focus group that is led by the City of South Bend's Homeless Coordinator which meets regularly with persons with lived experience to gain insight into challenges faced by that demographic. Attendees of the group are encouraged to attend RPC meetings. The outreach groups allow participants to shared their experiences with different programs in South Bend, serving those who have,or are,experiencing housing instability. Feedback has been used to modify how ESG,CoC and other programs and services are administered by participating agencies. Specific efforts have addressed changes to the weather amnesty program and the point-in-time count procedures. Currently,there are discussions with this group and Beacon Memorial to assess the unmet medical needs of the unhoused. This input is helping Beacon Memorial design a street outreach program to address those unmet health needs of persons who would otherwise not seek care. Other efforts of the outreach group have OMB Control No:2506-0117(exp.07/31/2025) 209