Funding Requests for Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations
For just the second time in more than a decade, Congress will be providing Member-directed federal funding to a select number of Community Projects through the Appropriations Process. Under the recently adopted process, each House member is allowed to submit 15 project requests on behalf of their Congressional District to the Appropriations Committee.
Below are the 15 projects selected by Congressman Adam Schiff from California’s 30th District for fiscal year 2023.
BIG Futures Mentoring
- Address of receiving entity: 1530 James M Wood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015
- Amount requested: $500,000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: The BIG Futures collaboration would provide mentoring, workshops, newsletters, building social capital, navigating social services, and student aid to 200 students. These transitional education services are free of charge and align with the goal to support underrepresented youth in obtaining a postsecondary credential or degree, bolstering economic mobility, ensuring public safety, and creating brighter futures for students and families.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
Burbank New Emergency Operations Center
- Address of receiving entity: 275 East Olive Avenue, Burbank, CA 91502
- Amount requested: $1,250,000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: The City of Burbank is seeking to refurbish existing space at City Hall to provide a dedicated mission-capable Emergency Operations center for the jurisdiction, which does not currently exist. The City currently has to borrow the Fire Training Center, when an EOC is needed. After-action reports have shown that the time it takes to activate and set up an EOC takes critical time away from urgent initial policy decision-making and providing operational support to the early hours of an incident, where there is already a delay in information sharing and critical decision making because of the initial “fog of war” and lack of adequate situational awareness and a good common operating picture. Having a dedicated EOC where trained City personnel can go that is already equipped with the necessary tools and technology required to obtain and convey time-sensitive situational awareness and provide a common operating picture, will provide for more efficient response support and coordination. The City of Burbank is located in an area that could fall victim to a number of different human-caused and natural disasters and the City and community would greatly benefit from a dedicated EOC facility. In the past, the City has relied on using its Fire Training Center as an EOC when needed. However, the facility was designed as a training center with the layout and technology best suited for that specific role, not for providing incident situational awareness, a location for policymakers to gather and make decisions and/or for personnel to effectively provide proper support and coordination for response and recovery efforts.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
City of West Hollywood Care Team
- Address of receiving entity: 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069
- Amount requested: $300,000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: The project would provide first responder services for community members experiencing a behavioral health crisis stemming from a mental health condition, substance use, or other factor/s. The Care Team would be designed to provide harm reduction, trauma-informed, and culturally competent services including on-site assessment, supportive counseling, first aid, and non-emergency medical care.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
Dental Treatments and Education for Low Income Children
- Address of receiving entity: 400 W. Elmwood Ave. Burbank, CA 91506
- Amount requested: $1,200,000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: The Kid’s Community Dental Clinic of Burbank is a nationally recognized dental home offering free or low-cost comprehensive and restorative oral care to vulnerable low-income families from communities of color to bring access to healthcare equity and alleviate poverty. This project is for a new building to expand services.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
Essential Service Relief for Families
- Address of receiving entity: 2130 James M Wood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006
- Amount requested: $600,000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: Labor Community Services (LCS) works to provide a safety net for union members, whether it be through food programs, disaster relief funds, or financial literacy. This funding would expand the LCS’s Basic Needs Program, which has ramped up efforts in the past year due to the effects of COVID-19. The Basic Needs Program provides emergency food assistance at four food pantry locations throughout LA County and at large-scale food distribution events, provides direct assistance to individuals and families facing eviction or in need of relocation assistance, and offers other crucial resources and referrals to those impacted by unemployment or underemployment.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
Food Cycle Food Recovery Network
- Address of receiving entity: 6636 Selma Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028
- Amount requested: $652,500
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: FoodCycle diverts excess edible food from businesses that would be sending it to landfills and redirects it to communities in need. This funding would support the expansion of this existing network and fill identified infrastructure gaps.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
Glendale College Foundation Low-Income Student RentalAssistance Program
- Address of receiving entity: 1500 N Verdugo Rd; Glendale, CA 91208
- Amount requested: $1,250,000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: Nearly one-in-six community college students faced housing insecurity in the previous 12 months. Current funding only allows us to support GCC students who are also living in Glendale. However, most students who are facing housing insecurity are either currently renting outside of Glendale or are considered unhoused outside of Glendale. As proposed, the purpose of the Low Income Student Rental Assistance Program (LISRAP) is to provide rental housing assistance to low-income, students who are living alone or with family, while also providing them supportive services such as education and employment support/skills.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
Glendale Police Department Homeless Outreach Program
- Address of receiving entity: 131 N. Isabel Street, Glendale, CA 91206
- Amount requested: $731,000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: The Community Outreach Resources and Engagement Bureau (CORE) of the Glendale Police Department (GPD) oversees assisting the homeless population through the Homeless Outreach Program. This funding would help expand the Homeless Outreach Program to help clients connect to Glendale Continuum of Care (CoC) service providers for wraparound services and housing placement.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
Hollywood Food Coalition
- Address of receiving entity: 5939 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
- Amount requested: $1,000,000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: Hollywood Food Coalition has operated its meal program every night of the year, for 35 years, with no barriers to service and at no cost to those they serve. In addition to providing high-quality meals seven nights a week, they also offer free services in collaboration with other nonprofits, including housing navigation, CalFresh and other public benefit enrollment, COVID-19 vaccines, financial services, and medical, dental, vision, and mental health care. These services are offered to some of the most vulnerable members of the community, including the unhoused, working poor, foster and transitional-aged youth, families, seniors, members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with physical or mental disabilities, veterans, justice-impacted individuals, survivors of domestic violence, and individuals living with substance use disorder.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
Los Angeles River Encampment & RV Transition Fund
- Address of receiving entity: 200 N. Main St. Suite 415 Los Angeles, CA 90012
- Amount requested: $982,045
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: People experiencing homelessness along the river are some of the most difficult to serve among Los Angeles' unsheltered homeless population. This project would serve individuals experiencing homelessness who are living in the LA River’s basin by connecting unhoused individuals to interim housing and other community services. Permanent housing placements include wrap-around services, which include service coordination, counseling, education services, family support, and employment and financial literacy training with the goal of permanently ending a client's homelessness, and allowing them to escape poverty and become more self-sufficient.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
Medically Tailored Meal Programs Project Angel Food
- Address of receiving entity: 922 Vine Street, Los Angeles, CA 90038
- Amount requested: $913,5000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: Project Angel Food prepares and delivers healthy meals to feed people impacted by serious illness. This project would help cover costs of expanding our capacity to reach those most in need of nutritional assistance in Los Angeles. Funds will cover the purchase of food packaging equipment, quality assurance equipment, and additional capital improvements necessitated by the tremendous increase in need engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
Peer Homeless System Navigators
- Address of receiving entity: 200 N. Spring Street, Room 455, Los Angeles, CA 90012
- Amount requested: $640,108
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: Homelessness in the City and County of Los Angeles has been a persistent crisis. The L.A. Youth Ambassador Peer Homeless System Navigator Program will provide a much-needed, innovative intervention to the youth homelessness problem. The program will empower young students to provide peer support and guidance to other youth in search of housing support and other wrap-around services.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
Santa Monica and Vermont Apartment Health Clinic
- Address of receiving entity: 231 E. Third St., Suite G106, Los Angeles CA 90013
- Amount requested: $1,500,000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) provides safety net and community development services to people and communities in need. This project would support the construction of a federally qualified health center in the LTSC’s affordable development, Santa Monica & Vermont (SMV) Apartments. The health clinic is intended to serve both the greater East Hollywood community and residents living in the building. The health provider would provide on-site supportive and wraparound services to all residents, both formerly homeless households and those living in the general affordable units.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
The Center in Hollywood
- Address of receiving entity: 6636 Selma Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90028
- Amount requested: $1,300,000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: Homelessness is a federal and state priority. Programs that improve the hygiene, well-being, and safety of unhoused neighbors improve the hygiene, well-being, and safety of the entire community. Beyond serving the more than 2,000 residents who will access programs through the Day Center, the program will alleviate several of the burdens of unsheltered street homelessness for the broader community by providing access to clean restrooms and hygiene items, trash cans, and safe ways to discard paraphernalia, wellness programming, and access to health care, mental health care and substance use resources. Additionally, Day Centers help to keep people from falling into homelessness by providing critical resources to those vulnerable in housing; preventing hundreds of evictions annually.
- Financial Disclosure Letter
YWCA of Glendale and Pasadena
- Address of receiving entity: 735 E. Lexington Drive, Glendale, CA 91206
- Amount requested: $2,200,000
- Explanation of request and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds: This funding will be used to address improvements and repairs at YWCA of Glendale and Pasadena’s historical campus and domestic violence emergency shelter. Specifically, it would be used to address fire, life, and safety compliance issues as well as building repairs that consist of structural, architectural, accessibility, machinal electrical and plumbing upgrades and improvements, exterior repairs and preservation, and interior repairs. Additionally, funds will be used to expand the domestic violence shelter and increase its capacity to serve more victims of domestic violence experiencing homelessness.
- Financial Disclosure Letter