The Covington Board of Commissioners has approved the allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, funds to two nonprofit organizations serving Northern Kentucky.
The allocations to Legal Aid of the Bluegrass and the Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission were passed as part of Tuesday night’s consent agenda. Each will receive $157,917 and $537,186, respectively.
ARPA funds were one-time funds disbursed to cities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the City of Covington determined how the funds were distributed, the funds can be used to provide services in eight cities in the Northern Kentucky HOME Consortium, which aims to provide resources and funding for people with housing needs. The cities in the consortium are Covington, Florence, Independence, Erlanger, Ludlow, Bellevue, Newport and Dayton.
The city had sought requests for funding proposals in March. John Hammons, who manages federal grant programs for the city, stated at the commission caucus meeting on Aug. 5 that the city had received more requests than it had a budget for. The Community Action Commission’s final award was, in fact, less than their original request.
“Following an extensive consultation process with local service providers and a thorough means-and-gaps analysis, we identified key priorities that went into an allocation plan that was approved by HUD,” said Hammons last week. “Those are affordable rental housing, supportive services and homelessness prevention and shelter diversion.”
Legal Aid of the Bluegrass provides legal consultations and other services to people who usually can’t afford conventional legal services. These include outreach and services to people at-risk of becoming homeless and domestic violence victims. The Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission provides various services, including financial help. The agency plans to spend its funding allocation on creating a universal screening tool to help identify clients who may be at-risk of becoming homeless.
You can learn more about the different organizations at their websites below: