Pinellas County has been awarded $512,36 in federal funds to rapidly rehouse residents affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. County commissioners will now approve grant recipients to prevent potential controversies.

Initially, staff intended to rank and award applicants without commission oversight. However, Commissioner Vince Nowicki raised concerns about the Homeless Leadership Alliance (HLA) of Pinellas possibly receiving funding.

Nowicki, a board member of the Pinellas Continuum of Care (CoC), which oversees the HLA, mentioned Tuesday morning that HLA may soon lose its status as the CoC’s lead homelessness mitigation agency.

“I would be hesitant to hand over a substantial amount of money to an organization that the CoC might terminate our agreement with by March 7,” Nowicki said. “I’d hate to see funds go to an organization that may not have the best intentions.”

The CoC board comprises nine elected officials and 16 community leaders who fund programs to rapidly rehouse homeless individuals and families. The organization also supports related programs throughout Pinellas.

HLA assists community partners and stakeholders in planning, implementing, and strategically aligning efforts to prevent, reduce, and end homelessness countywide. The nonprofit is currently searching for a new CEO for the third time in less than two years.

Monica Alesnik led the agency from August 2022 to January 2024. Daisy Correa succeeded her in March and left in November.

Former HLA vice chairperson Aaron Swift became interim CEO in December 2024. According to the announcement, he is working closely with the CoC to find a permanent replacement.

On Tuesday, Nowicki said the CoC’s executive board issued a letter indicating it would either terminate HLA’s lead agency status by March 7 or provide the nonprofit with a “stringent list of real contingencies to meet.” Commissioner Chris Scherer asked if staff could remove HLA from grant consideration pending that outcome.

“It gets tricky when removing organizations from funding opportunities if there are no clear, delineated examples of misuse or misappropriation of funds,” Commissioner Renee Flowers replied.

The federal funding originates from two U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs. County officials can use the funds to help those who are or could become homeless in areas affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Joe Riddle, planning manager for the housing and community development department, said the funding would support residents not served by previous federal disaster relief programs. The HLA’s Funding Council helped establish the county’s priorities.

Riddle mentioned that HLA must still apply for a grant like any other organization. “We’ll also be focusing on providers out there offering services so we can get the funding in their hands.”

Flowers noted that nonprofits often experience turnover and must address temporary issues. However, she doesn’t believe this should affect funding opportunities.

Flowers added that the commission should read every proposal before deciding to remove any applicant from consideration. Although Riddle said there was no deadline to approve HUD’s grant, waiting until after the CoC’s meeting would delay the launch of much-needed rapid rehousing services.

“I recommend having a clear, articulable basis for excluding an entity,” added Dan Crowell, chief assistant county attorney. “We must be able to clearly enunciate the differentiation to defend it if challenged.”

Commissioners decided not to exclude HLA from the application process. Instead, they unanimously agreed to vote on ranked applications at an upcoming meeting.

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(Image credit: Stephanie Colombini/WUSF)