The County of Santa Barbara is offering Emergency Rental & Utility Assistance through United Way of Santa Barbara County to eligible County of Santa Barbara residents that have experienced a loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic and can demonstrate the need for support. This Emergency Rent Assistance Program is intended to prevent homelessness by providing rent and utility assistance to residents.

Qualifying households may apply for a three (3) month subsidy of:

• Rent assistance up to $6,000 to be paid directly to the owners or managers of the rental units on behalf of all tenants in the applicant’s household.
• Utility assistance to be paid directly to the utility company on behalf of the applicant.

If awarded, qualifying households will also be eligible to thereafter re-apply for an additional three (3) months of assistance, up to a total of 15 months.

There are strict eligibility requirements for this funding opportunity, please review at https://www.unitedwaysb.org/rent.   

Click here to complete the application. The application is also available in Spanish here.

If you need assistance filling out this application or have questions, please call United Way of Santa Barbara County (UWSBC) during the following office hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 9:00am and 2:00pm. Staff is working virtually and will return all calls and emails within 72 hours (Monday – Friday). For assistance, please call (805) 965-8591 or email info@unitedwaysb.org.

The City of Goleta is now providing rental assistance funds through the Housing Authority of Santa Barbara County, to qualified City of Goleta residents financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. job loss, reduction in wages, etc.). Upon application approval, applicants may receive up to $5,000 or up to 3 months of current and/or past-due rental expenses, whichever is less. Once approved, assistance payments to applicants will be paid directly to landlords.

ELIGIBILITY / DOCUMENTATION

• Must provide proof of residency in the City of Goleta
• Household income must be 80% or below the area median income (AMI)
• Must demonstrate loss of income related to COVID-19, with eligibility starting last year on March 13, 2020, and must provide:
  • Documentation of past 2 months of income for the entire household
  • Proof of lease or rental agreement

Additional documentation may be required during the review process. To apply, go to https://portal.neighborlysoftware.com/SANTABARBARACOUNTYCA/participant.

If you need assistance or have questions, contact the Housing Authority at 805-735-8351 or email Questions@hasbarco.org.

The Santa Barbara Better Together (SBBT) Fund Small Business Grant Program is open for a third time in support of small businesses in the City of Goleta. With an additional $66,500 to go towards the Fund, the City of Goleta in partnership with Santa Barbara Better Together Fund and the Santa Barbara Foundation has opened the grant program with the deadline for businesses to submit an application by Monday, March 8, 2021. A maximum of $10,000 is available per grant to qualifying small businesses located within the City of Goleta.

City of Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte said, “In these difficult times, I am pleased that the City Council was able to approve additional funds to continue supporting the Santa Barbara Better Together Fund Grant Program. Now is the time to support our local businesses, and we appreciate the help of organizations like the Santa Barbara Foundation to make these grants possible.”

Grants are available to small businesses located within the City of Goleta as they reopen and adapt to operating under proper public health guidelines due to COVID-19. Please review the SBBT Small Business Grant Program guidelines for further details.

Learn more in English.

Para aprender más en Español haga clic aquí.

“We are thrilled to be the purveyor of support to small businesses who are facing ongoing challenges with COVID-19,” said Jessica Sanchez, Director of Donor Services at the Santa Barbara Foundation. “It has been an honor to work creatively with the City of Goleta, Santa Barbara Better Together Fund, and our team at the Foundation for a third time to get relief to small businesses.”

The Santa Barbara Better Together Fund (SBBT) was set up at the Santa Barbara Foundation as a committee advised fund in March of 2020 and the fund is helping local businesses survive these uncertain times which, in turn, will help sustain our community.

The Santa Barbara Better Together Fund is advised by representatives from Deckers Brands, LinkedIn, Santa Barbara Foundation, local businesses and business advocates. Distribution of the funds are voted on by the committee members.

The Santa Barbara Better Together Fund has provided grant programs for small businesses throughout Santa Barbara County. Support has gone to small businesses in unincorporated areas of Santa Barbara County, City of Carpinteria, City of Santa Maria, and the City of Santa Barbara.

Community members are welcome to donate to the Santa Barbara Better Together Fund at SBFoundation.org/give-now/give-to-sb-better-together-fund/.

After almost one year of remote learning, many local students will have the option to return to school. With the red tier within reach, adjusted case rates and positivity rates trending downwards, Santa Barbara County has reached the level that permits TK through 6^th grade with approved safety plans to return to in-person learning.

Goleta Union School District is reopening elementary schools on March 8, 2021. If local metrics continue to trend downward, secondary schools would have the ability to re-open as well. The need for more testing could improve weekly adjusted case rate leading to further reopening and will help move our County into the Red Tier and beyond.

The step forward for TK-6 requires close watch of the safety guidelines for children. Parents and schools will need to ensure many things including daily screening of kids, keeping them home when not feeling well, limiting gathering with people outside of their households, maintaining social distancing outside of their home, wearing face coverings, and following isolation and quarantine guidance when a family member or close contact tests positive.

Santa Barbara County Public Health Department Health Officer, Dr. Henning Ansorg states, “COVID-19 is largely transmitted in the community and not in a TK-6 school setting. When everyone does their part to follow the safety guidelines and protocols, our children can return to school in a safe environment for themselves and for school staff.”

New State guidelines regarding youth and adult sports has been released. High and Medium contact sports can resume in the red tier or in the purple tier if the case rate is below 14. Santa Barbara County is close to reaching that goal and testing is encouraged to help us get there.

Community testing sites are available throughout the county. Many sites are open until 7:00 p.m., allow walk-ins, and have no wait times. Turnaround times for tests have also decreased.  More information on testing locations can be found here: https://publichealthsbc.org/testing/.

Public Health Officials continue the monumental task of getting Santa Barbara County residents vaccinated. This would be ambitious under normal circumstances but due to limited vaccine availability the mission has been much more challenging.

More than 80,000 vaccines and counting have been administered in Santa Barbara County.

Currently residents ages 75 and older, health care workers, long care term staff and residents are still being vaccinated.

With the arrival of additional vaccine supply, first dose vaccine appointments will be available at Public Health vaccination sites for Santa Barbara County residents that are Emergency Services Workers, Grocery Workers, and Phase 1A Health Care Workers. Special outreach for separate clinics for Educators, Childcare, and the Agricultural/Food Industry are also taking place. 30% of the county’s vaccine allocation will be utilized for people in these sectors. Vaccine supply remains very limited.  

The Public Health Department is working with the Santa Barbara County Education Office, local private schools, and partners in the childcare sector to provide targeted opportunities for educators and childcare providers to be vaccinated. First priority will be given to Special Education teachers and those working with medically fragile students.

Eligible residents that are Emergency Services Workers, Grocery Workers, and Phase 1A Health Care Workers can schedule appointments for Public Health vaccination sites here: https://publichealthsbc.org/covid-19-vaccine-appointment-registration/. For assistance with appointment registration, those eligible can reach out to the County Call Center by calling 2-1-1 and selecting option #4. This line is available 7 days a week between 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

For those 65 years of age and older, vaccine appointments will become available in the coming week at local pharmacies, health care providers, and hospitals.

For information about the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit https://publichealthsbc.org/vaccine.

The next group in line for vaccine eligibility will be the following sectors: transportation/logistics, industrial, commercial, residential, sheltering facilities and services, critical manufacturing, and congregate settings with outbreak risk.

At this point, Public Health is coordinating with some primary care providers to immunize their own patients. If are you are a patient at a County or Community Health Center, your health center will contact you about scheduling when the vaccine is available to you.

If you are eligible for a vaccine appointment and want to sign up, click here.

Vaccination Sites in Santa Barbara County

Those registered for an appointment should bring:

• Documentation with your name on it. Does not need to be a government-issued ID.
• Proof of Santa Barbara County residency

Thank you to everyone involved in helping vaccinate Santa Barbara County.

Recently the state launched MyTurn.ca.gov, an online vaccination appointment and notification platform. The system is not expected to go live in Santa Barbara County until March 31^st.  When it is ready, individuals will be able to sign up for a notification when they become eligible for an appointment, schedule an appointment, and be reminded when it is time for a second dose. Although it is not live yet, to register go to https://myturn.ca.gov/.