Merced County residents ask supervisors to rethink distribution of COVID relief. Here’s why
Merced County on Friday notified the state how millions of new COVID-19 aid dollars will be distributed — a decision that some local residents aired concerns over at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
Winton-based nonprofit Central Valley Opportunity Center was unanimously elected to operate the federal Emergency Rental Assistance program locally. The initiative is slated to distribute more than $8.26 million of the nation-wide program’s $25 billion to Merced County residents in need of rent and utility assistance due to COVID-19 hardships.
Supervisor Josh Pedrozo excused himself during the vote to avoid conflict of interest, as his father serves on the CVOC’s Board of Directors.
In addition to the $8.26 in direct federal funds, Merced County will receive an estimated $8.89 million via the state Emergency Assistance Program for tenants and landlords.
Friday’s deadline required Merced County to inform the state which of three options — A, B or C — it would utilize to administer the combination of federal and state funds.
Choice “A” would funnel both the state and federal funds through a state-led rollout. Option “B,” conversely, would permit the county to administer both the state and federal dollars after obtaining a state block grant.
Merced County leadership chose “C,” which opts for the state to administer its funds while CVOC is contracted to operate the federal program locally.
“The $16 million could be distributed in two modes of distribution,” said Supervisor Lloyd Pareira in support of the choice. “One could be more local and then the state could distribute their $8 million along their guidelines . . . I think option C hopefully meets a broader range of needs.”
Residents report negative CVOC experiences
Awarding the contract to CVOC, however, made some residents wary.
Several in-person speakers and nearly 30 voicemails during the meeting’s public comment portion implored county leaders to rethink the contract.
Worries were triggered by allegations about CVOC’s performance during a prior contract that distributed rental, mortgage and utility assistance for COVID-19-impacted residents throughout December and January.
Dozens of individuals who tried to benefit from that program relayed negative experiences to the Board of Supervisors.
Complaints included alleged discriminatory questions about citizenship (despite citizenship not being a prerequisite for eligibility), language barriers, calls to CVOC going unanswered or unreturned and a general lack of accessibility in the application process.
“Your constituents were not treated fairly throughout this process,” said resident Corinthia Hurley to the Board.
Community organizers from groups like Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, California Central Valley Journey for Justice, United Way of Merced County and the League of United Latin American Citizens also told the Board that residents called their organizations asking for assistance in navigating the process with CVOC.
They too found the process confusing and frustrating, they said.
Exacerbating concerns is that the previous CVOC-run program was smaller. The nonprofit was responsible for operating $1 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocations — a fraction of the $8.26 million it will now oversee.
Speakers at the meeting asked the board to either deny the contract, or contract with more community organizations like United Way or Central Valley Mutual Aid to provide additional support.
“If a contract is given today, we know that we’re setting up that organization to fail,” said youth organizer Brenda Gutierrez of 99Rootz at the Board meeting.
Supervisors ask for assurance before awarding contract
Concerns about CVOC were not news to the Board on Tuesday. Several County Supervisors spoke with residents — including both successful and unsuccessful recipients of CARES Act aid during CVOC’s first contract — in days leading up to the vote.
“I understand both sides,” said Supervisor Rodrigo Espinoza. Espinoza said conversations he had showed that experiences varied considerably between different prospective applicants. Issues seemed to stem from problems with applicants just as equally as issues on CVOC’s side, he said.
CVOC Executive Director Jorge De Nava answered multiple direct questions from the board after resident complaints were voiced publicly.
Supervisor Scott Silveira asked De Nava how successful he believed the last program was. De Nava answered that it was “extremely successful” but not perfect.
“Even some of the folks that were making public comment, I actually want some of the same things they want,” De Nava said.
Silveira also inquired whether issues were triggered due to the demand of residents’ need far surpassing the $1 million supply for which CVOC was responsible. Out of nearly 2,000 inquiries, households actually served by the program totaled 443 when funds ran dry.
“Is $1 million enough? No,” De Nava said, noting that the number of residents whose inquiries for help went unaddressed shows how great the unmet need is still.
Supervisors also asked De Nava for a commitment from CVOC that language will not be a barrier going forward, including a request by the board to ensure Punjabi-speaking residents are reached. “You do have that commitment from me,” De Nava said.
Another hurdle absent from the new contract is the available time to get the program running, De Nava said. The previous program was stood up in a number of days, while this time around CVOC has weeks.
County staff also highlighted these difficulties while reviewing the prior program for the Board, but added that misinformation about the application process was spread via third party organizations. That underscored the importance of better community outreach going forward, they said.
The Board of Supervisors agreed that CVOC has been a good community partner in the past, and that lessons learned from the previous contract will permit the next one to improve.
“I really did come into this this morning with my mind not made up,” Silveira said to De Nava. “You’ve given me assurance on the things that are important to my district.”
With the contract approved, CVOC may begin program outreach for the March 1 application start date. Applications for the state Emergency Assistance Program open March 15.
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 12:49 PM.
