Crystal Gonzalez of the Diaper Bank of the Inland Empire addresses the City Council during a public hearing on Riverside's 2026-27 Annual Action Plan on Tuesday.
City officials approved a more than $9 million federal housing and community development spending plan on Tuesday after a public hearing in which many nonprofit leaders, healthcare providers and service organizations said the funding helps keep critical local programs running.
The City Council unanimously adopted Riverside's 2026-27 Annual Action Plan, authorizing the city to apply for and distribute an estimated $9.05 million in federal entitlement funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The money comes through four HUD programs – Community Development Block Grants, Emergency Solutions Grants, Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program – and supports affordable housing, homelessness programs, health services and assistance for low- and moderate-income residents.
City staff said Riverside has participated in HUD entitlement funding programs for more than three decades and uses the annual action plan as its required application for federal dollars.
This year's projected allocation includes approximately $5.07 million in Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS funding; $2.75 million in Community Development Block Grant funding; $981,734 through HOME and $250,428 in Emergency Solutions Grant funding.
Tuesday's hearing drew extensive public testimony from organizations that rely on the funding and described growing demand for services.
Representatives from groups including Smile Unto Him Dental Clinic, Voices for Children, NORA (formerly Riverside Area Rape Crisis Center), Girls on the Run Inland Empire, California Baptist University's Mobile Health Clinic, Catholic Charities, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire, the Diaper Bank of the Inland Empire and Human Migration Institute spoke in support.
Several speakers described serving residents facing rising housing costs, economic instability and reduced availability of other public assistance.
Crystal Gonzalez of the Diaper Bank of the Inland Empire said the organization served 524 Riverside households and nearly 700 diaper-dependent children during the past year.
She said city funding would support a potty-training assistance program intended to help families transition children out of diapers earlier and lower household expenses.
Allison Severns of Human Migration Institute said anticipated reductions in federal refugee support later this year could leave organizations increasingly dependent on local partnerships and funding streams.
"Federal funding cuts are arriving at the end of September, and as a result, 80 percent of [Human Migration Institute's] team is facing layoffs," Severns said. "The staff who spent years earning trust of these families, who know their children's names, saw them graduate high school and now are at risk of disappearing from their lives precisely when the need is the greatest. So local funding is not supplemental right now for the families who rely on [this team] to help them integrate. [Community Development Block Grants] may be the only bridge that remains."
Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes thanked speakers for illustrating how the dollars translate into services on the ground before moving approval.
The city must submit the adopted plan to HUD by Aug. 14.
Civic Engagement Reporter who calls the Inland Empire home. Five years covering SoCal. APU journalism grad. Good conversations over coffee and stories that matter.
The council approved the two-year spending plan Tuesday as the city faces projected general fund shortfalls of $27 million and $34 million over the next two fiscal years.
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