Sarasota pushes for the use of COVID-19 federal funds for affordable housing
“The staff proposed allocating $5 million to affordable housing and $5 million to mental health services.
The commissioners have not decided on exact numbers yet, but are scheduled to continue the discussion next month. Their next meeting is scheduled for January 11, 2022.
Johnson said that the funds will not resolve the issues as ‘there’s no way to instantly find housing for all of these individuals.’
‘But what we can do is, if they decide to use that funding for future housing, we can recover and then avoid a future catastrophe if we actually make those plans now for the future,’ he said. ‘So they have an opportunity to leave a legacy for future generations.'”