A. INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the City of Durham’s Community Development Department’s ZoomGrants.com online grant application. This website is being used to accept project applications to support rapid rehousing projects and emergency shelter services funded by the following funding sources:

1. State of North Carolina Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG): $169,278
2. City of Durham Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG): approx. $234,000 available
3. City of Durham Dedicated Housing Fund (DHF): $200,000 available
4. City of Durham Community Development Block Grant (CDBG): $177,000 available

Total funding available through this application process: approx. $780,278.

B. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS AND ACTIVITIES BY SOURCE

B.1. State of North Carolina ESG - $169,278

Eligible applicants. The applicant must have had non-profit status for at least one full year, or be a local governmental entity or agency, or be a housing authority.

Eligible activities, uses, and program participants. For the FY2019-20 application, the Durham Homeless Services Advisory Committee (HSAC) has prioritized the use of State ESG funds for rapid rehousing services for adults experiencing homelessness who are not accompanied by minor children. In general, eligible activities must fall within the parameters of the following five components.

1. Rapid rehousing (See 24 CFR 576.104): The purpose of rapid rehousing is to help individuals and families who are homeless, on the streets or in emergency shelter, to quickly obtain their own rental housing. Funds may be used for:

• Housing Relocation and Stabilization Services: Transportation, moving costs, rental application fees, security deposit, last month’s rent, utility deposit, utility payments, housing search and placement, housing stability case management, mediation, legal services and credit repair; or
  
• Tenant Based Rental Assistance – Program participants select a housing unit in which to live and receive a. Short-Term Rental Assistance (Up to 3 months) or b. Medium-Term Rental Assistance (4 to 24 months).

Eligible participants include literally homeless individuals and households documented as meeting category 1 of the HUD Homeless Definition and currently living in an emergency shelter or a place not meant for human habitation. For beneficiaries receiving Rapid Re-Housing services, there is no initial income eligibility requirement, but assisted persons must be at or below 30% of the Area Median Income at their annual re-evaluation. Applicants should look to key ESG program regulations at 24 CFR Parts 84, 85, and 91, for full evaluation and income requirements.

2. Emergency Shelter (See 24 CFR 576.102): Emergency shelter includes operations and/or essential services for the provision of short term safe emergency overnight accommodations in a congregate setting with the primary goal of quickly rehousing participants as quickly as possible.

Eligible operating expenses include costs of maintenance (including minor or routine repairs), rent, security, fuel, equipment, insurance, utilities, food, furnishing and supplies necessary for the operation of the emergency shelter. Where no appropriate emergency shelter is available for a homeless family or individual, eligible costs may also include a hotel or motel voucher for that family or individual. Eligible essential services include case management, child care, education services, employment assistance, outpatient health services, legal services, life skills, mental health services, substance abuse assistance treatment services, transportation, services for special populations.

Eligible participants are individuals and families documented as meeting category 1 or 2 of the HUD Homeless Definition.

3. Street Outreach (See 24 CFR 576.101): Street outreach includes activities to locate, identify and build relationships with unsheltered homeless people for the purpose of providing immediate support, intervention, and connections with homeless assistance programs and/or mainstream social services and housing program. Eligible expenses include engagement, case management, emergency health services, emergency mental health services, transportation; and services to special populations. Eligible participants are unsheltered individuals and families documented as meeting category 1 of the HUD Homeless Definition.

4. Homelessness Prevention (See 24 CFR 576.103): The goal of homelessness prevention is to prevent an individual or household from losing their housing, becoming homeless, and moving into an emergency shelter or an unsheltered situation. Eligible expenses include:

• Housing Relocation and Stabilization Services: Transportation, moving costs, rental application fees, security deposit, last month’s rent, utility deposit, utility payments, housing search and placement, housing stability case management, mediation, legal services and credit repair; and
  
• Tenant Based Rental Assistance – Program participants select a housing unit in which to live and receive a. Short-Term Rental Assistance (Up to 3 months) or b. Medium-Term Rental Assistance (4 to 24 months).

Eligible participants include individuals or families documented as meeting category 2 of the HUD Homeless Definition AND who are documented as extremely low income (household income BELOW 30% AMI) at intake and at the time of their 3-month re-evaluation. See 2019 Durham MSA Median Income chart in the Library. Applicants should look to key ESG program regulations at 24 CFR Parts 84, 85, and 91, for full evaluation and income requirements.

5. HMIS (See 24 CFR 576.107): The Homeless Management Information System, or HMIS, is a common shared database used to coordinate homeless housing services and monitor project and system progress toward preventing and ending homelessness. Eligible expenses include hardware, equipment, software costs (license fees), staff salaries and training necessary to contribute data to the HMIS designated by the Durham Continuum of Care.

Match. Applicants are not required to provide a match for State ESG funds.

B.2. City ESG funds – approximately $234,000 available

Eligible applicants: The applicant must have had non-profit status for at least one full year, or be a local governmental entity or agency, or be a housing authority.

Eligible activities, eligible uses, and eligible participants
1. Rapid rehousing (See 24 CFR 576.104): The purpose of rapid rehousing is to help individuals and families who are homeless, on the streets or in emergency shelter, to quickly obtain their own rental housing. Funds may be used for:

• Housing Relocation and Stabilization Services: Transportation, moving costs, rental application fees, security deposit, last month’s rent, utility deposit, utility payments, housing search and placement, housing stability case management, mediation, legal services and credit repair; or
  
• Tenant Based Rental Assistance – Program participants select a housing unit in which to live and receive a. Short-Term Rental Assistance (Up to 3 months) or b. Medium-Term Rental Assistance (4 to 24 months).

Eligible participants include literally homeless individuals and households documented as meeting category 1 of the HUD Homeless Definition and currently living in an emergency shelter or a place not meant for human habitation. For beneficiaries receiving Rapid Re-Housing services, there is no initial income eligibility requirement, but assisted persons must be at or below 30% of the Area Median Income at their annual re-evaluation. Applicants should look to key ESG program regulations at 24 CFR Parts 84, 85, and 91, for full evaluation and income requirements.

2. Street Outreach (See 24 CFR 576.101): Street outreach includes activities to locate, identify and build relationships with unsheltered homeless people for the purpose of providing immediate support, intervention, and connections with homeless assistance programs and/or mainstream social services and housing program. Eligible expenses include engagement, case management, emergency health services, emergency mental health services, transportation; and services to special populations. Eligible participants are unsheltered individuals and families documented as meeting category 1 of the HUD Homeless Definition.

Match. Applicants are not required to provide a match for City ESG funds.

B.3. City of Durham Dedicated Housing Funds (DHF) - $200,000 available

Eligible applicants. To be eligible for City Dedicated Housing Funds (DHF), applicants must also be requesting City ESG funds for rapid rehousing activities. The City will not entertain applications solely for City DHF funds.

Eligible activities. City Dedicated Housing Funds may only be used to fund rapid rehousing activities for single adults and families that are also requesting City ESG funding.

Eligible participants. Same as requirements for City ESG funds.

Eligible uses of funds. Same as requirements for City ESG funds, with the following additions: Child care.

Match: Applicants are not required to provide a match for City of Durham DHF.

B.4. City of Durham CDBG Funds - $177,000 available

Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations with 501(c)(3) status for at least one (1) full year, and a for-profit organization proposing to use funds for an eligible activity.

Eligible activities. CDBG funds available through this competition may only be used to support emergency shelter services for homeless households, including operating costs and essential services. For the purpose of this competition, an emergency shelter is defined as any facility which has a primary purpose of providing a temporary shelter for the homeless in general or for specific populations of the homeless and which does not require occupants to sign leases or occupancy agreements. Eligible operating costs include the costs of maintenance (including minor or routine repairs), rent, security, insurance, utilities, food, furnishings, and supplies necessary for the operation of the emergency shelter. These funds may also be used to provide essential services to individuals and families who are in an emergency shelter, as follows:

• Case management. The cost of assessing, arranging, coordinating, and monitoring the delivery of individualized services to meet the needs of the program participant is eligible.
  
• Child care. The costs of child care for program participants, including providing meals and snacks, and comprehensive and coordinated sets of appropriate developmental activities, are eligible. The children must be under the age of 13, unless they are disabled. Disabled children must be under the age of 18. The child-care center must be licensed by the jurisdiction in which it operates in order for its costs to be eligible.
  
• Education services. When necessary for the program participant to obtain and maintain housing, the costs of improving knowledge and basic educational skills are eligible. Services include instruction or training in consumer education, health education, substance abuse prevention, literacy, English as a Second Language, and General Educational Development (GED). Component services or activities are screening, assessment and testing; individual or group instruction; tutoring; provision of books, supplies and instructional material; counseling; and referral to community resources.
  
• Employment assistance and job training. The costs of employment assistance and job training programs are eligible, including classroom, online, and/or computer instruction; on-the-job instruction; and services that assist individuals in securing employment, acquiring learning skills, and/or increasing earning potential. The cost of providing reasonable stipends to program participants in employment assistance and job training programs is an eligible cost. Learning skills include those skills that can be used to secure and retain a job, including the acquisition of vocational licenses and/or certificates. Services that assist individuals in securing employment consist of employment screening, assessment, or testing; structured job skills and job-seeking skills; special training and tutoring, including literacy training and prevocational training; books and instructional material; counseling or job coaching; and referral to community resources.
  
• Outpatient health services. Eligible costs are for the direct outpatient treatment of medical conditions and are provided by licensed medical professionals. Funds may be used only for these services to the extent that other appropriate health services are unavailable within the community. Eligible treatment consists of assessing a program participant's health problems and developing a treatment plan; assisting program participants to understand their health needs; providing directly or assisting program participants to obtain appropriate medical treatment, preventive medical care, and health maintenance services, including emergency medical services; providing medication and follow-up services; and providing preventive and non-cosmetic dental care.
  
• Legal services. Eligible costs are the hourly fees for legal advice and representation by attorneys licensed and in good standing with the bar association of the State in which the services are provided, and by person(s) under the supervision of the licensed attorney, regarding matters that interfere with the program participant's ability to obtain and retain housing.
  Funds may be used only for these services to the extent that other appropriate legal services are unavailable or inaccessible within the community. Eligible subject matters are child support, guardianship, paternity, emancipation, and legal separation, orders of protection and other civil remedies for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, appeal of veterans and public benefit claim denials, and the resolution of outstanding criminal warrants.
  Component services or activities may include client intake, preparation of cases for trial, provision of legal advice, representation at hearings, and counseling. Fees based on the actual service performed (i.e., fee for service) are also eligible, but only if the cost would be less than the cost of hourly fees. Filing fees and other necessary court costs are also eligible. If the subrecipient is a legal services provider and performs the services itself, the eligible costs are the subrecipient's employees' salaries and other costs necessary to perform the services. Legal services for immigration and citizenship matters and issues relating to mortgages are ineligible costs. Retainer fee arrangements and contingency fee arrangements are ineligible costs.
  
• Life skills training. The costs of teaching critical life management skills that may never have been learned or have been lost during the course of physical or mental illness, domestic violence, substance use, and homelessness are eligible costs. These services must be necessary to assist the program participant to function independently in the community. Component life skills training are budgeting resources, managing money, managing a household, resolving conflict, shopping for food and needed items, improving nutrition, using public transportation, and parenting.
  
• Mental health services. Eligible costs are the direct outpatient treatment by licensed professionals of mental health conditions. Funds may only be used for these services to the extent that other appropriate mental health services are unavailable or inaccessible within the community. Mental health services are the application of therapeutic processes to personal, family, situational, or occupational problems in order to bring about positive resolution of the problem or improved individual or family functioning or circumstances. Problem areas may include family and marital relationships, parent-child problems, or symptom management. Eligible treatment consists of crisis interventions; individual, family, or group therapy sessions; the prescription of psychotropic medications or explanations about the use and management of medications; and combinations of therapeutic approaches to address multiple problems.
  
• Substance abuse treatment services. Eligible substance abuse treatment services are designed to prevent, reduce, eliminate, or deter relapse of substance abuse or addictive behaviors and are provided by licensed or certified professionals. Funds may only be used for these services to the extent that other appropriate substance abuse treatment services are unavailable or inaccessible within the community. Eligible treatment consists of client intake and assessment, and outpatient treatment for up to 30 days. Group and individual counseling and drug testing are eligible costs. Inpatient detoxification and other inpatient drug or alcohol treatment are not eligible costs.
  
• Transportation. Eligible costs consist of the transportation costs of a program participant's travel to and from medical care, employment, child care, or other eligible essential services facilities. These costs include the following: the cost of a program participant's travel on public transportation; if service workers use their own vehicles, mileage allowance for service workers to visit program participants; the cost of purchasing or leasing a vehicle for the recipient or subrecipient in which staff transports program participants and/or staff serving program participants, and the cost of gas, insurance, taxes, and maintenance for the vehicle; and the travel costs of recipient or subrecipient staff to accompany or assist program participants to use public transportation.

Eligible participants: Literally homeless individuals and households documented as meeting category 1 of the HUD Homeless Definition and currently living in an emergency shelter, as defined above.

Income eligibility of participants: There is no initial income eligibility requirement, but, if any assisted persons remain in emergency shelter longer than 365 days, their income must be evaluated within 30 days of their one-year anniversary of shelter entrance and their income must be at or below 30% of the Area Median Income at this evaluation.

C. MAXIMUM FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR SELECTED PROJECT ACTIVITIES

• Emergency Shelter: $101,567 of State ESG and $177,000 of City CDBG for a total of $278,56
  
• Street Outreach: $101,567 of State ESG and approximately $77,000 of City ESG for an approx. total of $178,567
  
• Rapid Rehousing: $169,278 of State ESG, approx. $234,000 of City ESG, and $200,000 of City DHF for a total of approx. $603,278

Actual project awards will be less as all project activities cannot be funded to the maximum amount that could be allocated to that activity.