Alliance provides over $16 million for housing support in Merced County

CVV News l October 23, 2024

Central California Alliance for Health (the Alliance) is proud to announce that it has awarded over $16 million to create housing solutions in Merced County. This funding has contributed to 8 housing projects that have created 417 beds across the county.

This is part of a larger investment of $45 million that has contributed to 28 housing projects across the Alliance service areas of Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties. Collectively, these investments have provided over 1,000 units to people experiencing housing insecurity.

The Alliance awards these grants through its Housing Fund initiative, which aims to support temporary and permanent housing opportunities for Medi-Cal members across the Alliance’s service areas. The fund provides grants to build, purchase, renovate and/or furnish permanent housing units, recuperative care facilities and short-term post-hospitalization housing units.

These investments are one way the Alliance is addressing the critical issue of homelessness and housing insecurity among Medi-Cal members, which significantly impacts an individual’s health and well-being.

“We believe in supporting the health care needs of the whole person,” said Alliance CEO Michael Schrader. “Housing undeniably contributes to health. Projects like these address critical social drivers of health, like housing and safe environments. A safe place to sleep helps individuals with complex medical and social needs achieve positive health outcomes. This initiative helps bring us closer to our vision of ‘healthy people, healthy communities’.”  

The Alliance relies on community-based organizations as essential partners to address members’ social determinants of health and to coordinate health and health-related care. Awardee Linc Housing, a nonprofit organization that builds affordable housing across California, said these funds will provide critical affordable housing units for low-income and special needs households.

“The over $3 million from Alliance Housing Fund is critical for Linc Housing to develop the I Street Apartments, a proposed 54-unit affordable housing development in the downtown neighborhood of Merced,” said Dani Morales, project manager representative for Linc Housing. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the Housing Fund award and the Alliance’s commitment to affordable housing and healthy communities.”