Scottsdale outreach: IGA is critical funding mechanism for those in need
By Terrance Thornton | Digital Free Press
An intergovernmental agreement between Scottsdale and Maricopa County officially designates the Vista Del Camino Community Center as the local social services hub focused on preventing homelessness in and around the greater metropolitan area.
Coined by government officials as the “Community Action Program,” the tenets of the program serve as a funding mechanism to allow federally funded dollars flow to qualified municipal efforts.
“The CAP is a mechanism to allow funding and programming from several government sources to pass through to eligible Scottsdale residents, specifically to address poverty, the prevention of homelessness, and the empowerment of low-income families and individuals to become self-sufficient,” said Greg Bestgen, Scottsdale Human Services director, in his July 6 report to City Council.
The agreement provides $391,875 in funding to shoulder administrative costs of providing various outreach programs at the Vista Del Camino Community Center, 7700 E. Roosevelt St. Scottsdale City Council Wednesday, July 6, approved the IGA between municipality and county at City Hall, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd.
The Vista Del Camino Community Center operates, among other things, as a senior center and social services hub for residents experiencing homelessness and providing food and economic relief for those who are in crisis, officials there say.
Mr. Bestgen reports the partnership of community service has been at City Hall since 1968, which predates the construction of the Vista Del Camino Community Center.
“The city of Scottsdale began working with the County in 1968, prior to the construction of Vista del Camino, to provide CAP funding to eligible citizens of Scottsdale through the federal Community Action Agency created to combat poverty throughout the United States passed through the Maricopa County Human Services Department,” he said.
“In 2010, the City Council adopted Resolution 8634 formalizing this relationship through an intergovernmental agreement. MCHSD serves as the local CAA and then contracts with local CAPs such as Vista del Camino to provide various types of assistance to prevent homelessness, professional case management, information and referral, and food programs.”
Mr. Bestgen reports each CAP office works to solve the unique issues of local communities but all provided with funding to provide direct financial assistance for those who are eligible. Those benefits include:
• Utility payments;
• Utility deposit;
• Mortgage payment to prevent eviction or foreclosure;
• Rent payment to prevent eviction, rent payments for those who are homeless; and
• Rental deposit payment for those who are homeless.
Last fiscal year — the time period between July 1 and June 30, 2022 — the Vista del Camino’s CAP program had access to approximately $10.3 million dollars to assist low-income eligible residents, according to Mr. Bestgen.
“This allocation is higher than historical amounts due to available CARES act funding,” he explained. “The allocation for FY 22-23 is expected to be slightly less than FY 21-22 although still much elevated over pre-pandemic years, but the exact figures are not available at this time. Year to date, approximately $9.4 million in financial assistance was distributed to eligible low-income Scottsdale residents through the current contract.”
The partnership of serving those in need has been in existence for 54 years, city officials say.
“Without the availability of this money, many in the community would be facing eviction, foreclosure and/or disconnected utilities,” Mr. Bestgen explained to City Council. “Others in the community would not have the financial support to move from homelessness and into a safe living environment.”
Services at the Vista Del Camino Community Center try to tackle the issue from a holistic funding perspective, Mr. Bestgen reports.
“Through this contract, Scottsdale Case Workers provide case management and verify funding eligibility for Scottsdale residents experiencing financial crisis,” he said of serving the whole issue. “The actual distribution of funding is handled by Maricopa County Human Services and does not impact the city’s budget.”
