The review committee has completed its eview of the RFPs under the ICHH grant. There are a few technical aspects to work out, as will be described below, but there is news to share about providers to be funded.
RFP for Individual REACH Services
Two entities applied for funds to provide individual REACH services, and they will both be fully funded. The Mental Health Association will be funded for 11 REACH services slots in Springfield, which will be used in conjunction with a new McKinney Project-Based Shelter + Care grant. ServiceNet will be funded to provide 16 REACH services slots in several locations in Northampton (Yvonne’s House, Florence Inn and Hawley) and Greenfield (Winslow Building).
There are 11 REACH slots that were not bid for–these will be rebid. A new RFP will be released in the next several weeks seeking agencies to make these slots available in locations in the region other than Springfield, Northampton and Greenfield.
RFP for Prevention, Diversion & Rapid ReHouse for Families
There were six entities that applied for funding to serve families: Berkshire Housing Development Corp. (BHDC), Community Action, Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority (FCRHRA), HAP Housing, New England Farmworkers Council (NEFWC), and Valley Opportunity Council (VOC). The applications for the family funding exceeded the amount of our grant, so not all entities could be fully funded.
The review committee has decided to offer reduced funding levels to each of the applicants (with one twist, described below). Erica Johnson is comparing the funding requests to the committee’s recommendations for the number of families to be served by each entity. Once these numbers are reconciled, offers will be made to the successful applicants.
There was a procurement irregularity with the BHDC application, which caused the application to be disqualified. This was the only application that would have provided coverage for the Berkshires, and our Network’s goal was to provide funding coverage for the entire region. For this reason, the review committee has determined that the Berkshire award should be provided to another entity which can subcontract with BHDC to make assistance available in Berkshire County.
The review committee noted that each of the applicant agencies is already providing some form of prevention, diversion or rapid rehouse services. One reason to fund all agencies was to take advantage of these existing funding streams and augment them, while at the same time having one funding stream that can be used to knit the various programs together in a more comprehensive system. In addition, the review committee noted that each of the agencies has particular strengths and landlord connections in different (though overlapping) geographic areas.
Congratulations everyone!
Choosing ICHH grant recipients is a major milestone for our Network. Congratulations to the succesful applicants and to the Network and Leadership Council for getting us to this point.
