A Note from Commissioner Hodge

I hope that you and your loved ones have been staying safe and well! It's been a while since my last newsletter, so there's quite a bit to update you on. This newsletter focuses on initiatives that I think will be of particular interest to residents in my district, and the bottom includes links to county projects more broadly. That being said, I encourage you to read the whole newsletter, including all of the links at the bottom, and to spread the word about the work that is happening. As always, I want to highlight that everything that you see here is only possible thanks to the dedicated and hardworking county staff. I am extremely grateful to be able to work alongside them and to serve as your commissioner.

I hope that you have a wonderful spring. Please reach out to me to let me know your thoughts!

Justin Hodge
Chair of the Working Session
Commissioner, District 5

The Creation of the Community Priority Fund

On March 2nd, the Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the second usage of American Rescue Plan funds. This package approved the launching of a mobile service support initiative that will connect resources and providers to neighborhoods, an investment in the health departments' efforts to respond to COVID and address longstanding social determinants of health, and the creation of a Community Priority Fund.

The Community Priority Fund (CPF) is a strategic initiative funded by the Board of Commissioners to increase equitable, community-informed allocations of ARPA funding, and to support full, ecosystem development for organizations that have not been previously eligible to contract with Washtenaw County. This fund will support innovative programs across a number of topic areas, including community violence intervention, addressing educational disparities, expanding early childhood education, providing direct assistance to households, and addressing housing and homelessness. All programs are required to support low access to opportunity areas, primarily in the 48197 and 48198 zip codes.

The County's Racial Equity Office opened a portal for interested organizations and businesses to submit their proposals in March that closed last week. The next step of this process will be for county staff, a community advisory board, and the county administrator to review proposals and provide recommendations to the Board of Commissioners. More updates will be provided on the County's website in the coming weeks and months.

Office of Community and Economic Development Updates and Resources

In the first quarter of 2022, the Board received several updates on the work of the Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) to serve our community. In the first quarter of 2022, OCED continued operating the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program, recruited youth and employers for another year of the SummerWorks youth and young adult employment program, and released their 2021 Barrier Busters annual report.

The CERA program provided over $6 million of rental, utility, and internet assistance to more than 850 households in 2021. This program, which is a partnership between OCED, Housing Access for Washtenaw County, and SOS Community Service, continued to serve Washtenaw County residents during the first three months of 2022, and will continue to do so moving forward. Learn more, including how to access assistance here.

SummerWorks is a summer employment, mentorship, and professional development program for young adults from ages 16 to 24. SummerWorks strengthens the community and develops talent by leveraging local resources and networks to provide career opportunities and mentorship to young adults. In the first quarter, OCED and their partners at the University of Michigan and Michigan Works once again recruited young adults, employers, and mentors for this years program. Learn more @ SummerWorks.info

At the end of the first quarter, the Barrier Busters Network, coordinated by OCED, released its 2021 Annual Report. The report showed the initiative providing over $500,000 of support to over 900 households to stay in their homes, keep the lights on, afford transportation, and more. The Board has and will continue to support the Barrier Busters program with direct funding, advocacy, and staff support. Individuals interested in learning more can visit the Barrier Busters webpage.

Also during the first quarter, the Board continued to support OCED by approving a number of grants that come from the state and federal governments. This includes the funding of a number of critical programs like coordinating the county's housing and homelessness response, providing important resources to seniors like Meals on Wheels, and making community infrastructure improvements. The Board also approved the acceptance of grants to expand OCED's Home Improvement programs, which provide free home improvement services to lower-income households. To learn more, including how to apply, go to this webpage.

Health Department Continues Serving Our Community

During the first three months of the year, we crossed the two-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 cases in Washtenaw County. Entering 2022, we are in a very different spot, but are still responding to the ongoing health and economic impacts of the pandemic. The Board has continued to receive regular updates from Health Officer Jimena Loveluck and support the actions of the Health Department.

Some of the news activities of the Health Department include:

Hosting a series of virtual community events about the latest COVID-19 news in English and Spanish.
Partnering with local groups to bring free KN95 masks and test kits to community members. From Jan-Feb 2022, we gave out over 113,000 KN95 masks and over 28,000 at-home tests! Read more about this initiative here, and watch this video with highlights from the events!
Hosting ongoing COVID-19 vaccine clinics
Health Officer Jimena Loveluck being honored as the United Way Washtenaw County Woman of the Year. Check out this great WEMU 89.1 interview where Jimena talks with David Fair about her background in HIV/AIDS work and how those experiences prepared her to lead our county’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Releasing their 2020 Annual Report
Putting out ongoing communications about the latest COVID-19 prevention/transmission guidance and information https://www.washtenaw.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2035

At their March 2nd meeting, the Board of Commissioners approved a second expenditure of American Rescue Plan Act funds, which included a substantial investment in the Health Department. The goal of the investment is to continue building a strong and equity-driven health department. This investment highlighted a number of different goals, including leading with data for equity and investing in healthy people, places, and neighborhoods. This will include hiring additional community health workers and public health nurses. While many of these positions and updates from the Board’s investment will occur later this year, they are actively hiring for other positions as well. Click here to learn more!

Other Updates from the First Quarter

Click each title to read the full update: