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On Tuesday, health and social services workers handed commissioners a report from the Family Support Services Division, the division of HHS that operates out of community centers and provides basic services to low-income families.
According to Kirsten Siegfried, HHS division director, the program has already spent twice as much as it did last year – $ 21 million in grants to over 45,000 Travis County’s residents.
“The types of financial assistance we offer include housing in the form of rent, land rent (for RVs), mortgages and utilities,” she said. “Pretty much any kind of utility we’ll pay for, including firewood and needy burial.”
The types of non-financial assistance HHS provides include basic services such as food, clothing, and diapers, as well as professional social work related to health, mental health, legal, and safety issues.
“Traditionally, we have used the district’s general fund for rent and mortgage assistance,” Siegfried told the commissioners. However, since the federal law on pandemic aid was passed, the district can now provide both the financing of the CARES law and the financing of the emergency aid program for rent in addition to the general fund.
Of the rental subsidy that the program has distributed, approximately $ 6 million is from ERAP, while $ 4.8 million is from the General Fund and $ 2.6 million is from the CARES Act. Compared to 2020, there was a 45 percent increase in rental subsidies. To date, the program has spent $ 884,867 on mortgage aid.
To provide assistance to utility companies, HHS typically draws on a number of funding sources, including the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program or Austin Energy’s Plus One program. CEAP paid approximately $ 2.6 million of the HHS grant grants, while Austin Energy contributed $ 1.7 million and the General Fund disbursed $ 316,000.
“I am really impressed by the amount of help the county is giving to those in need,” said Commissioner Brigid Shea.
“The job is excellent,” said Commissioner Jeffrey Travillion. “And I think it showed what we should continue to do. I just want to make sure we put a point where there are inequalities, we have to develop plans to address them. “
Photo of the Farm Security Administration in the public area.
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