Title
Dept/ Agency: Health and Community Wellness
Action: (X) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Sub-Recipient Agreement
Purpose: To improve the City’s crisis response to individuals experiencing mental health emergencies, including those who are homeless.
Entity Name/Address: Yolanda Alonzo’s Love, Inc., 372 Broad Street, Newark, New Jersey 07104
Grant Amount: $724,087.00
Contract Amount: $20,000.00
City Contribution: $0.00
Other Funding Source/Amount: $0.00
Grant/Contract Period: Grant funds to be expended no later than September 29, 2026
Contract Basis: () Bid () State Vendor () Prof. Ser. ( ) EUS
( ) Fair & Open ( ) No Reportable Contributions ( ) RFP ( ) RFQ
() Private Sale (X) Grant (X) Sub-recipient () n/a
Additional Information:
To enter into and execute an Agreement with Yolanda Alonzo’s Love, Inc. to provide Grant Funds for mental and behavioral health services through various programs, focusing on emergency response, health, housing, and individuals experiencing mental health emergencies, including those who are homeless. system by enhancing existing co-responder teams to effectively provide trauma-informed comprehensive community-based behavioral health crisis services
Budget Code NW051-051-G26-H26N0-72090-B2026.
Body
WHEREAS, on July 25, 2022, the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services, on behalf of the City of Newark (“City”), in collaboration with non-profits, Bridges Outreach Inc. and Mental Health Association (“co-applicants”), applied for a grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services in the amount of Two Million Nine Hundred Three Thousand Six Hundred Fifty-Three Dollars and Zero Cents ($2,903,653.00) over a four (4) year project period from September 30, 2023 to September 29, 2027 to carry out the Community Crisis Response Partnership Project (“Project”); and
WHEREAS, on or about May 25, 2023, the City received an initial award from SAMHSA in the amount of Seven Hundred Twenty-Seven Thousand Two Hundred Forty Dollars and Zero Cents ($727,240.00) (“Initial Award”); and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution 7R7-c adopted December 20, 2023, the City accepted the Initial Award and entered into memorandums of understandings with the co-applicants for the provision of contractual crisis intervention training services and behavioral health crises response services, which services were incorporated into the grant application and the May 25, 2023 Notice of Award; and
WHEREAS, on or about May 5, 2025, the City, received a second Notice of Award from SAMHSA indicating that additional grant funds in the amount of Seven Hundred Twenty-Four Thousand Eighty-Seven Dollars and Zero Cents ($724,087.00) (“Second Award”) for the period September 30, 2024 to September 29, 2025 were being awarded the City for the Project; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution 7R1-h adopted on May 21, 2025, the City accepted the Second Award; and
WHEREAS, on September 22, 2025, the City received a third Notice of Award from SAMHSA indicating that additional grant funds in the amount of Seven Hundred Twenty-Four Thousand Four Hundred Twenty-Four Dollars and Zero Cents ($724,424.00) (“Grant Funds”) for the period September 30, 2025 to September 29, 2027 were being awarded the City for the project; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution 7R5-s adopted on May 20, 2026, the City accepted said Grant Funds; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to improve its crisis response system by enhancing existing co-responder teams to effectively provide trauma-informed comprehensive community-based behavioral health crisis services to individuals experiencing mental health emergencies, including those who are homeless; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the competitive contracting process of the State Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-4.1(b)(being the operation, management or administration of social services programs), the City publicly advertised a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Co-Responders and Mental Health Providers with evidenced based crisis training; community-based, trauma-informed health care; liaising with community-based homeless service organizations; group training and one-on-one coaching with respect to burnout prevention and compassion fatigue; and trauma-informed health car to homeless people or crisis intervention with all such proposals due on June 2, 2026; and
WHEREAS, the proposal received from Yolanda Alonzo’s Love, Inc. 372 Broad Street Newark, New Jersey 07104, (hereinafter referred to as “Sub-Recipient”), was one of the most advantageous to the City of Newark based on experience and all other criteria listed in the RFP; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to collaborate with Sub-Recipient on the Project and to provide said Sub-Recipient a sub-grant in an amount not to exceed Twenty Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($20,000.00) for the continuation of the aforementioned services for the Grant Period of September 30, 2025 through September 29, 2026, with services to be performed from June 30, 2026 through September 29, 2026; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16.2, the governing body of any local unit may, by resolution, provide for and authorize payment of an advance to any nonprofit organization or agency with which the local unit has entered into a service contract, for the purpose of meeting service program start-up costs in order to prevent undue hardship to Sub- Recipient to achieve objectives of SAMHSA, the Sub-Recipient shall receive an advance payment of no more than 25% of the total award.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY THAT:
1. The Mayor of the City of Newark and/or his designee, the Business Administrator, and the Director of the Department of Community and Wellness, are hereby authorized to enter into and execute a Sub-Recipient Agreement with Yolanda Alonzo’s Love, Inc. 372 Broad Street, Newark, New Jersey 07104 (“Sub-Recipient”), in connection with the provision of the aforementioned services for an amount not to exceed Twenty Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($20,000.00) (the “Sub-Grant”). The term of said agreement shall commence as of September 30, 2025 and terminate on September 29, 2026.
2. The Sub-Grant to Sub-Recipient shall be issued from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant.
3. The Municipal Council hereby ratifies the execution of this Agreement from the date of the adoption of this Resolution to September 30, 2025.
4. Attached hereto is a Certification of Funds from the Chief Financial Officer of the City of Newark stating that sufficient funds are available for the purposes stated in this Resolution from account Line: NW051-G26-H26N0-A-72090-B2026.
5. The Director of the Department of Health and Community Wellness shall file the fully executed Grant Agreement and this Resolution, together with any and all documents relating to the Sub-Grant, including, but not limited to Sub-Grant Reporting documents, in the Office of the City Clerk.
STATEMENT
This Resolution ratifies and authorizes the actions taken by the Mayor of the City of Newark, and/or his designee, the Director Department of Health and Community Wellness/Office of Homeless Services, to enter into and execute a Sub-Recipient Agreement with Yolanda Alonzo’s Love, Inc. 372 Broad Street, Newark, New Jersey 07104, for an amount not to exceed Twenty Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($20,000.00) commencing September 30, 2025 and terminating on September 29, 2026.