Grant Targets Housing Stability in South County During Pandemic

Wednesday, July 15th, 2020

(For the full article visit the website linked below)
Published by NOOZHAWK

A new nonprofit, Future Housing Communities (FHC), was born in the summer of 2019 as a response to the local housing crisis and the need for more sustainable and supportive neighborhoods. With increased threats to the local economy and the health of residents caused by COVID-19, FHC is exploring how to improve housing stability for South County residents.

The Fund for Santa Barbara has given FHC an emerging needs grant to address the following issues:

It is difficult to keep up with housing assistance plans and tenant protection policies, which vary depending on where you live. For example, in April there were three different deadlines for tenants to inform landlords they would be late with rent to avoid eviction (in Goleta, Santa Barbara and unincorporated county).

The lack of clarity about the virus trajectory and the future of state and local budgets may lead to more changes in policies.

FHC will establish an online SB Housing Hub to help residents keep track of the latest information.