The City Council is being asked to approve the Community Development Division coordinating with the Corporation for National and Community Service to submit an application for AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) resources for FY2019-2020. The Division has been managing the Billings Metro VISTA Project since 2009.

The Billings Metro VISTA Project supports placements of AmeriCorps VISTA members at nonprofit organizations to reduce the risk of homelessness and create the tools people in poverty need to build sustainable futures. Priority focus areas include education, financial literacy, housing, employment, food security, access to healthcare and services benefiting veterans and military families. Members may also be trained in City-sponsored initiatives to share information and resources with other communities across Montana to further project reach, scope and overall poverty impact. Examples include: the development and implementation of a plan to impact homelessness; assistance in developing a poverty-based impediments to housing access and equal opportunity; the expansion of services to assist veterans and their families; and the development and implementation a homeless services survey.

City Council approval for the application would allow the Community Development Division to assist in application preparation and administration of activities on behalf of many community agencies including Family Promise of Yellowstone Valley, Family Service, Inc., the Housing Authority of Billings, and Wise Wonders Children’s Museum.

Staff is preparing an application for members who may be placed at varying times throughout the year based on availability, including (but not limited to) member opportunities in May / June for Summer Associates (ten week placements), July, August, January, and February (one-year placements), etc.

City Council may:

• Approve the submittal of an AmeriCorps VISTA application to the Corporation for National and Community Service, or;
• Disapprove the submittal of an AmeriCorps VISTA application to the Corporation for National and Community Service. Not making application for the AmeriCorps VISTA program would have a major negative impact on the ability of Billings to address low-income and underserved populations in our community. The Community Development Division has been managing the Billings Metro VISTA Project since 2009 and the program has leveraged millions of dollars in community investment and placed more than 215 VISTAs in non-profit service organizations in the community.

The City has been awarded Project Grant status by the Corporation for National and Community Service since 2014. For the current fiscal year, the Corporation for National and Community Service allocated a total grant award of approximately $689,000 to carry out the project. The Community Development Board and City Council also approved a $75,000 Community Development Block Grant allocation to support cost share members, who are prioritized to further the Division’s initiatives to impact poverty and homelessness, as per the Community Development Board’s request. Host Sites also contribute approximately $20,000 per year to support the project.

Staff and the Community Development Board recommend the City Council authorize submission of an application for AmeriCorps VISTA and authorize City staff to negotiate and finalize the project if awarded.