City Awards $178,250 in Grants to Help Needy : Thousand Oaks: The council gives funds to 17 social agencies and projects serving low-income residents.

For Hospice of the Conejo, the $8,000 grant approved Tuesday by the Thousand Oaks City Council will help provide at-home care for the terminally ill.

For the Conejo Youth Employment Service, a $16,000 grant will help find jobs for youths who have run afoul of the law and need help straightening out their lives.

The council awarded grants totaling $178,250 to 17 local organizations and projects that work with low-income residents. Ranging from $1,500 to $16,000, the grants are funded with city money in some cases, federal money in others.

A committee of 17 community residents began evaluating grant proposals in April, meeting with applicants to hear how each would use the money. Councilwoman Judy Lazar, who chaired the committee, said applicants were judged on the need for their programs, the number of people they serve and their history of offering assistance to local residents.

“I won’t tell you it’s an easy process,” she said before Tuesday’s meeting. “There are strong opinions about who should get the money.”

The committee then submitted its recommendations to the council for approval.

The Conejo Youth Employment Service had asked for $25,000 to fund its “at-risk” youth program and possibly open a thrift store. Like all other applicants, the service received less than requested.

Claire Hope, the organization’s executive director, said the group had hoped to get funding for the full amount requested but was pleased nonetheless to receive the $16,000 actually awarded.

“We’re really limited in the funding we can apply for,” Hope said.

Some of the 21 applicants got nothing at all. Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Assn. had asked for $10,000 to provide at-home health care to needy patients, said Kara Partridge, the association’s community relations specialist. Last year, the association made 120,000 home visits countywide, she said.

“When we’re serving that large a number of people, we’re always looking for funding,” she said.

Partridge said that while she was disappointed, the lack of funding would not force the association to cut services.

“It won’t cripple us,” she said, “but it will have an impact.”

The source of some of the money, the Community Development Block Grant program of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, may no longer be secure.

Olav Hassel, the city’s housing services manager, said the U.S. Senate has proposed cutting funding to the program.

Other funding for the grants comes from a special endowment established by the city to provide money for social services.