Washington – Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) announced that the City of Santa Rosa is receiving a $4,313,977 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This grant will reimburse the city for a program that relocated at-risk residents from the Samuel L. Jones Hall Homeless Shelter to the Sandman Hotel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic created a public health emergency unlike anything we have seen for generations,” said Thompson. “When the COVID-19 pandemic started in early-2020, Santa Rosa took swift action to keep vulnerable communities safe, including relocating residents of the Samuel L. Jones Hall Homeless Shelter to the Sandman Hotel where they had access to critical resources and could properly ensure social distancing. I am glad to announce this funding for Santa Rosa as we continue to recover from the pandemic and work to protect the health of every community.”
“Congressman Thompson was instrumental in convincing the federal government to allow for complete reimbursement of COVID-19 expenses,” said Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Rogers. “Santa Rosa acted quickly at the beginning of the pandemic to support individuals experiencing homelessness. A huge thanks to our homeless and housing staff members along with our finance team to ensure this project was successful and that we received the appropriate reimbursement.”
On Sunday, March 22, 2020, the city of Santa Rosa facilitated the relocation of 45 residents from the Samuel L. Jones Hall Homeless Shelter to the Sandman Hotel in Santa Rosa. This action was taken to ensure social distancing of at least six feet between bunk beds at Sam Jones. During the entire length of the relocation, 381 participants were served at the Sandman Hotel in 91 hotel rooms with an average length of stay of 101 days. The City worked with Catholic Charities to relocate at-risk individuals to Sandman, this included 24/7 wrap-around services, meals, case management, housing navigation, screening for medical needs and COVID-19 testing. The entire length of program was March 2020 to June 2021.
