Sonoma County COVID recovery program helps thousands with food, housing, financial aid and other services

An initiative created by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to help underserved communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic has delivered nearly 40,000 individual services to people in need, including food, housing, financial assistance, mental health counseling and other supports. 

An annual report presented today to the Board of Supervisors detailed the impact of the County’s Community Resilience Program. The initiative, approved by supervisors in May 2022, has funded 27 community-based projects that prioritized services to low-income residents and communities of color hit hardest by the COVID pandemic. 

“Through this investment, the County developed partnerships with more than 80 community-based organizations to deliver the services our residents needed the most,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, vice chair of the Board of Supervisors. “These initiatives are making measurable impacts in the lives of people who suffered disproportionately during the pandemic.” 

The $38 million Community Resilience Program is the single-largest investment funded by the Board of Supervisors with money from the American Rescue Plan Act, an economic stimulus bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2021. In all, the County received $96 million in federal ARPA funds to respond to the COVID pandemic and to help residents experiencing disparate outcomes recover. The County has spent $60.5 million to date and expects to obligate the remaining $35.6 million by year’s end across eight categories prioritized by the Board of Supervisors. 

Since its inception, the Community Resilience Program has funded more than 848,000 meals, provided direct financial assistance to 885 people, helped nearly 450 housing-insecure persons, funded mental health support to 316 people, provided career training to 380 people, and more. People served by the program have received 39,193 individual services through June 30, such as a box of food, money, a mental health counseling session, job training, help with child care, or other assistance. 

A full list of Community Resilience Program projects and performance data can be viewed at upstreaminvestments.org. Most projects will continue to provide services to Sonoma County residents through the end of 2025.

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Media Contact: 
Ted Appel, Communications Specialist 
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org 
(707) 565-3040 
575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A 
Santa Rosa, CA 95403