Nearly 50 cities across Los Angeles County, including Santa Clarita, have earned a unique opportunity to confront rising homelessness in their communities through an innovative grant program created by the County and United Way of Greater Los Angeles’ Home For Good Funders Collaborative.

Launched in July 2017, the program called on cities to submit applications outlining how they would create localized blueprints for action in collaboration with the County and its contractors, who are funded by the voter-approved Measure H ¼-cent sales tax.

The selection process—led by United Way’s Home For Good Funders Collaborative—approved proposals representing 47 cities. Each city will receive a planning grant ranging from $30,000 to $70,000, depending on the number of homeless families and individuals within its municipal boundaries.

The program, which was financed by an allocation of more than $2 million from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, underscores the County’s continuing determination to pursue regional solutions to the homeless crisis. Individual cities are uniquely positioned to complement and advance the County’s wide-ranging Homeless Initiative action plan.

“The County and its cities must work in partnership if we expect to succeed in our battle against homelessness,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Ridley-Thomas. “These grants represent the kind of creative thinking that we need to tackle one of the most pressing humanitarian crises of our region and of our time.”

The stakes, in fact, have never been higher: the 2017 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count revealed a 23% increase in homelessness over the previous year—a total of more than 57,000 people experiencing homelessness across the County.

“We can end homelessness if we all say yes to housing – and this innovative program proves that the solutions can start in the areas that we know best,” said Elise Buik, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. “We’re collectively fighting for all of our homeless neighbors and these cities are at the frontlines providing hope for a better future for all in L.A. County.”

Each city will have at least five months – until March 2018 – to create an individual plan. United Way’s Funder Collaborative and the County are committed to helping each city, when needed, create realistic and actionable plans.

The full list of city grantees can be found here: http://homeforgoodla.org/announcement/

The cities will kick-off their strategic planning at a convening led by United Way’s Home For Good and the County on November 29 in Downtown Los Angeles.

For more information on United Way’s efforts to end homelessness, visit www.unitedwayla.org. And for more on Los Angeles County’s Homeless Initiative, please visit homeless.lacounty.gov.