Redlands commits $2 million state grant to homeless services
Photo credit: city of Redlands
The city’s Homeless Solutions Coordinator David Rabindranath, during his early days on the job in 2022.
By David James Heiss
Redlands News Collective
Redlands will distribute $1 million to partnering nonprofits that are providing services for people transitioning out of homelessness.
At its Dec. 2 meeting, the City Council accepted a $2 million state grant that will help further the city’s work.
According to Assistant City Manager Chris Boatman, the city has achieved an “unprecedented” decline of 60 percent in the number of homeless individuals around Redlands. He credited the “tens of millions” in state financial support and the work of the city’s full-time Homeless Solutions Coordinator David Rabindranath.
Boatman reminded the council that most funding for the city’s homelessness reduction initiatives has come from the state, not the city’s general fund. He lauded Rabindranath and his team for producing compelling results that allow the city to continue to qualify for grants such as the $2 million from the Proposition 47 Cohort 5 grant, which was accepted at the Dec. 2 City Council meeting.
Prop. 47, passed in 2014, was anticipated to produce savings by reducing low-level drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Funds awarded to public agencies from the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund are intended to support mental health services, substance use disorder treatments and diversion programs for those in the criminal justice system.
In April, $127 million was set aside for grants. Redlands received notification of its qualification in September to aid in guiding some of its constituents into rehabilitation programs.
According to Rabindranath, $1 million of the grant will go toward paying for direct costs such as staffing and supplies, while the other half will be allocated to community partners:
$500,000 to the Salvation Army to assist with rapid rehousing programs, such as short-term rental assistance; $300,000 will be awarded to Church of Religious Science to continue providing shelter beds; and $200,000 is intended to benefit the program’s partnership with the Redlands Chamber of Commerce, which has been helping homeless individuals find jobs through its workforce and economic development programs.
Rabindranath estimates the city has assisted nearly 500 people transition from homelessness in the past four years.
Mayor Mario Saucedo told Rabindranath, “I don’t think there’s another city that I know of that has the impact and the results that you have been able to do,” and complimented Rabindranath’s staff and team, along with the nonprofit partners. “Remarkable work you and your staff have done.”