15675 1 RESOLUTION NO. 15,675
2
3 A RESOLUTION TO AMEND LITTLE ROCK, ARK., RESOLUTION NO.
4 15,391 (FEBRUARY 23, 2021) FOR A ONE (1)-YEAR EXTENSION WITH
5 OUR HOUSE FOR THE PURPOSE OF MANAGEMENT,
6 IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE
7 FINANCIAL NAVIGATORS GRANT FUNDED THROUGH CITIES FOR
8 FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT, INC., AS ENDORSED BY THE
9 COMMISSION ON CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES FOR 2022;
10 AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
11
12 WHEREAS, on February 23, 2021, the Board of Director approved Little Rock, Ark., Resolution
13 No. 15,391, which approved a one (1)-year contract with Our House, for the expressed purpose of imple-
14 menting the Financial Navigators Initiative, providing free remote-based financial triage and guide clients
15 to a range of national and local programs, services, and resources, in alignment with the model
16 requirements as set by the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund,Inc.; and,
17 WHEREAS, the City of Little Rock remains committed to assist low-income, homeless, and near-
18 homeless individuals and families in Little Rock, Arkansas, a population particularly hard-hit by the
19 economic fallout of the COVID-19 Pandemic;and,
20 WHEREAS,the Board of Directors has shown support for aiding community members experiencing
21 a host of challenges and hardships; and,
22 WHEREAS, Our House, the City of Little Rock's non-profit partner, has a thirty-three (33)-year
23 track record of connecting vulnerable individuals and families to a suite of wrap-around services;and,
24 WHEREAS, in a survey of clients who have been impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic, Our House
25 found that 66%of the population it serves had lost employment or had reductions in hours worked; and,
26 WHEREAS,approximately 68% of respondents have experienced dramatic increases in stress levels
27 due to financial insecurity, social isolation, housing instability, lack of childcare and joblessness; and,
28 WHEREAS, the Community Programs Department provides quality Prevention, Intervention and
29 Treatment (PIT) Programming that utilizes citizen involvement, evidence-based practices and
30 standardized processes with the goal of increasing positive outcomes and the quality of life for all
31 citizens; and,
32 WHEREAS, the Community Programs Department found that 55% of clients surveyed, that were
33 impacted by the virus experience a high level of need; and,
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1 WHEREAS,the Compass Platform, Financial Navigators Training and technical assistance provided
2 by the Citizens for Financial Empowerment Fund, Inc., would enable Our House and the Community
3 Programs Department to create a remote "one-stop-shop" for residents of Little Rock, Arkansas, leverag-
4 ing the networks, resources and institutional know-how of both municipal and community-based non-
5 profit partners; and,
6 WHEREAS, the City was initially awarded Eighty Thousand Dollars ($80,000.00) from the Cities
7 for Financial Empowerment Fund, Inc., for a Financial Navigators Grant. The Cities for Financial
8 Empowerment Fund, Inc., awarded an additional Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000.00), which is being
9 matched with Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000.00) from the Community Programs Department for an
10 additional year of services;and,
11 WHEREAS, the City has partnered with Citizens for Financial Empowerment Fund, Inc., and Our
12 House to administer, and as the City's identified community-based partner for this grant, Our House, the
13 City will remit to them Eighty Thousand Dollars($80,000.00); and,
14 WHEREAS, upon the adoption of this resolution, the agreement executed with Our House, which
15 commenced on August 1, 2021, for the expressed purpose of implementing the Financial Navigators
16 Initiative, which provides free remote-based financial triage and guide clients to a range of national and
17 local pro-grams, services, and resources, in alignment with the model requirements as set by the Cities for
18 Financial Empowerment Fund, Inc., will be extended for a period of one(1)-year.
19 NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY
20 OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS:
21 Section 1. The City Manager is authorized to enter into a one (1)-year contract extension with Our
22 House commencing on August 1, 2022, for the expressed purpose of implementing the Financial
23 Navigators Initiative, which provides free remote-based financial triage and guide clients to a range of
24 national and local programs, services, and resources, in alignment with the model requirements as set by
25 the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, Inc.
26 Section 2. The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, Inc., awarded an additional Forty Thousand
27 Dollars ($40,000.00), which is being matched with Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000.00) from the
28 Community Programs Department for the additional year of services. The City has partnered with the
29 Citizens for Financial Empowerment Fund, Inc., and Our House to administer. As the City's identified
30 community-based partner for this grant, Our House, the City will remit to them Eighty Thousand Dollars
31 ($80,000.00)from Account Numbers 108159-S 15C338 and 270159-G035098.
32 Section 3. Our House shall report to the City and the Community Programs Department and will
33 cooperate and confer with them as necessary to insure satisfactory work progress.
34 Section 4. The City Manager shall be satisfied the program to create a remote "one-stop-shop" for
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1 residents of Little Rock, leveraging the networks, resources, and institutional know-how of both
2 municipal and community-based non-profit partners has been implemented in advance of disbursement of
3 the funds.
4 Section 5. All payments are conditioned upon the execution of the 2022 extension contracts for
5 services that are in an acceptable form to the City Attorney.
6 Section 6. Severability. In the event any title, section, paragraph, item, sentence, clause, phrase, or
7 word of this resolution is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration or
8 adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of this resolution,which shall remain in full force and
9 effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional were not originally a part of the
10 resolution.
1 1 Section 7. Repealer. All laws, ordinances and resolutions, or parts of the same, that are inconsistent
12 with the provisions of this resolution, are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
13 ADOPTED: May 3,2022
14 ATTEST: APPROVED:
15
1 6 At(Ah(tit <A)-‘
17 Allison Segars,Depu Ilk; Clerk Frank Scott,Jr.,Mayo
18 APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
19
20 tit CAA,/-)-4-a-...,
21 Thomas M. Carpenter, City Attorney
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