City of Alameda cuts ties with management company over financial misbehavior at homeless shelter
Alameda, California – Following charges of financial misbehavior, the City of Alameda has chosen to end a $10.7 million contract with the management business running Dignity Village, a homeless shelter. The decision will terminate a five-year contract with Five Keys Schools and Programs, meant to offer a spectrum of supporting services at the 47-unit, 61-bed transitional housing complex.
Funded by a sizable grant from the State’s Homekey Program and further support from Alameda County, the facility was intended to provide security, case management, and repair among other things. Problems surfaced, though, when a Dignity Village employee was suspected of fraud, leading to an active police investigation that has constrained further disclosures from city officials.
Five Keys Schools and Programs’s CEO, Steve Good, told The Center Square he was not aware of the circumstances. The city’s email correspondence to The Center Square verified the ongoing investigation but provided only limited information because its confidential character.
A city council meeting set for July 16 will cover the latest development regarding the situation. Meanwhile, the city intends to work with Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), the only service provider offering a contract proposal. While the city investigates long-term alternatives expected to be presented this fall, this temporary contract seeks to guarantee ongoing operational services at Dignity Village.
Financially, the city is negotiating the possible risks connected to using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money. There are questions regarding financial risk during this transitional time should the federal government discover some expenses ineligible under the ARPA criteria during an audit.
The agreement with BOSS details the running expenses for Dignity Village in the meantime, including daily meal allowances for residents at $8.33 each and round-the-clock security. City records show that the financial plan projects resident dining service costs of around $456,067 and security expenses of roughly $224,640.
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Against the backdrop of a claimed 3% drop in homelessness in Alameda, this sudden contraction termination is shown in the 2024 Point in Time count, which shows that 9,450 people are homeless. The city stays focused on sustaining and improving support services for its homeless population among these administrative upheavals, even while it addresses the urgent issues raised by the claimed financial misbehavior.
