Two agencies win block grants in Buellton

 

Two local agencies have won grants provided by a federal Housing and Urban Development Department program.

People Helping People, a local group that serves the social needs of low and moderate income families, and the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County are being awarded grants accepted by the County of Santa Barbara and the City of Buellton through the Community Development Block Grant Program.

The grants, totaling just over $9,000, will assist People Helping People to provide an after-school program for 7th and 8th grade students from low and moderate income families, and will underwrite some local legal assistance for families in similar economic circumstances. Currently, local residents who require assistance from Legal Aid must travel to Lompoc or Santa Barbara. This grant will provide education, advice, and counsel to target populations within the City of Buellton living at the poverty level, those on fixed incomes such as Social Security, and the elderly or disabled.

 

People Helping People Executive Director Dean Palius and Associate Executive Director Lois Craig said that this is the first time the City of Buellton had participated in the block grant program. The group had asked for a grant of $7,000 and was allocated $6,000.

The after-school program, to be held at Jonata School, will allow 15 to 18 low and moderate income youth a daily supervised program between 2 and 6 p.m.

Mondays through Fridays while school is in session and all but two weeks during the summer.

“The kids will be required to do their homework first, with someone they have to account to there,” Palius said. He added that children who do well in school have a much better chance of doing well later in life.

 

The amount allocated by the block grant will only cover a portion of the cost of the after school program. Additional funds from sources such as matching grants from the Santa Barbara Foundation will round out funding for the program, according to Craig.

“The program has an academic orientation rather than recreation,” Craig said.

The block grants also will provide $3,134 to fund services from the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County. Specific services that the Legal Aid Foundation has identified are advocacy services for those who face habitability issues, such as asking a landlord for needed repairs, or for those who face eviction where discrimination or retaliation by the landlord is alleged.

 

The program will provide an estimated 32 families an opportunity to obtain the needed legal services in Buellton without having to travel to Lompoc, Santa Barbara, or Santa Maria to get the legal advice available from the Legal Aid Foundation. The foundation has plans to conduct two community workshops in the City of Buellton to educate residents on tenant’s rights.

The Buellton City Council will discuss the resolution to accept the block grant at its March 27, meeting.