Rep. Pete Aguilar announced $24,142,000 in federal American Rescue Plan funding will be used in the City of Redland’s $30 million project to turn the Good Nite Inn into 98 affordable homes with case management services. The federal funding supports California’s Homekey Program, which works to promote safe and sustainable affordable home communities and ensure that all Californians have a place to call home.

“Affordable housing and homelessness are two of the biggest issues in our community, and I am proud to have helped secure this critical funding to help our community’s most vulnerable population,” said Rep. Aguilar. “I’ll continue fighting for more federal dollars so that communities like the Inland Empire have the resources they need to address the growing homelessness crisis head on.”

“People experiencing homelessness need a safe, stable environment to call home,” Department of Housing and Community Development Director Gustavo Velasquez said. “Homekey continues to show that we can rapidly create these homes for people in need by converting hotels, offices and even empty lots into permanent housing. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve housed thousands of individuals through this program, and that only happens with coordination between the state and our local partners. We commend the City of Redlands for their efforts in getting this project moving. It’s because of their work that nearly 100 families and individuals will have a roof over their heads and access to the services they need.”

Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) said, “California Homekey funding will assist the City of Redlands develop permanent housing and ensure the chronically homeless and those at risk of homelessness receive shelter and the services they need to build better futures for themselves. We thank Rep. Aguilar for his collaboration in securing the funding for this important community program.”

Building off of the success of Project Roomkey, which started in March 2020 as part of California’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Homekey is working to rapidly expand housing for people experiencing homelessness or are on the verge of becoming homeless. Working with regional and public entities, Homekey has developed a broad range of housing from hotels and motels to apartments to converting commercial buildings into Permanent or Interim Housing.

Rep. Aguilar serves as the Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.