Sonoma County celebrates Community Resilience Program successes on the third anniversary of ARPA bill signing

The County of Sonoma is recognizing the anniversary of President Biden’s signing of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion COVID recovery bill, by recognizing the multiple ways ARPA funds continue to support the community. 

As part of this recognition, the county is releasing a two-minute video that provides an overview of how funds have been allocated. The video is available here: https://youtu.be/bfs275bQ4x0

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors created the Community Resilience Program in 2021, providing nearly $40 million to 24 community-based organizations working to support under-resourced communities – including Black, Indigenous and People of Color – who were most disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic drastically impacted our shared community and economy,” said Supervisor David Rabbitt, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “That’s why we created the Community Resilience Program, in an attempt to address some of the effects the pandemic had on the members of our community and business sectors that were impacted.”

As a partnership of the County Administrator’s Office, Office of Equity and Sonoma County Human Services Department, the Community Resilience Program provides a vital lifeline of support to individuals and families who experience living on the margins. It is funding an array of critical programs, including emergency food, housing, broadband connectivity, financial assistance and mental health services.

“We celebrate these successes with gratitude and with hope for future efforts that build on this increased capacity for culturally responsive services and the people they serve,” said Alegría De La Cruz, director of the Office of Equity.

Overall, Sonoma County received $96 million from ARPA, which was divided into three categories: COVID-19 pandemic response, strategic investments in county services and cultural responsiveness, and the Community Resilience Program. Late last year, the county reported that the Community Resilience Program had funded the equivalent of 487,000 meals, provided direct financial assistance to nearly 450 people, paid for intense mental health support to 175 people and provided career training to more than 100 people.

An online scorecard enables the public to examine data on the performance of ARPA-funded programs. The scorecard, which can be viewed at https://upstreaminvestments.org/impact-make-a-change/arpa-community-resilience-programs/arpa-community-data, will be updated by mid-April.

Most of the funding allocated to the community-based programs will be spent by the end of 2024. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to receive an update on the program in November.

The Human Services Department serves more than 120,000 individuals and families annually through its four core divisions: Economic Assistance, Adult & Aging, Family, Youth & Children’s Services, and Employment & Training, which houses Sonoma County Job Link and other supportive services.

The Office of Equity’s mission is to work in partnership within county government with Black, Indigenous, and communities of color, and with community members who are disproportionately impacted by systemic inequities to recognize and disrupt systemic harm, redesign structures and direct resources towards healing, liberation and belonging, and build transparency and accountability in county institutions, policies and culture.

For questions, contact Alegría De La Cruz at Alegria.DeLaCruz@sonoma-county.org or Kellie Noe at knoe@schsd.org. To learn more about the Community Resilience Program visit www.upstreaminvestments.org.

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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