The deadline to apply for this ARPA opportunity has now closed. Thank you to those who applied. On Sept. 13, 2022, the Board of Supervisors approved awards for 15 projects. 

A list of funded projects can be found here.

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The portfolio of funded projects:

• Address all four critical health impact areas – access to care, food access, healthy aging, and mental health and substance abuse
• Reach underserved communities throughout the county
• Support specific outreach and multilingual services for community members speaking Spanish and/or indigenous languages
• Offer services to individuals and families throughout the life span, from children to seniors
• Create significant investments in youth mental health through prevention, outreach, education, counseling, and wraparound support (after-school programs, food, health care, transportation)
• Address food insecurity through education, financial supports, and access to quality, local produce
• Launch new health care services and expand access to care
• Invest in coalitions and partnerships to sustain project work in the future

Projects will address or contribute to one or more of these four critical health impact areas:

	Access to Care SLO County has long faced healthcare workforce challenges and disparities in access to care. The pandemic has made these challenges even more extreme. Building a robust healthcare workforce and ensuring equitable access to care will be key to a healthy future for our community.
	Mental Health & Substance Abuse The pandemic and related social isolation exacerbated mental health and substance abuse problems that were already on the rise for many populations in the years prior to the pandemic. Addressing these complex challenges will be key to building individual and communitywide foundations for long-term health.
	Food Access Many households struggled to meet their basic needs during the pandemic, including access to healthy food. Addressing this need will be key to a robust and complete recovery as a community.
	Healthy Aging Seniors worldwide, including in SLO County, faced a disproportionate burden of both the physical and emotional impacts of the pandemic and the related grief and social isolation. Alleviating those physical and emotional burdens can increase the quality and length of our seniors' lives.

This one-time funding can be used for:

• A capital expense (e.g., vehicles, equipment, or other one-time purchases) (min. $50,000)
• An operating expense project, service or program (min. $200,000)

Questions?

The question period has closed as of June 20, 2022. See questions received as of this date (and their answers) at Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ. 

Contact us at [email protected].

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