Feds Award $315 Million in Grants for Homelessness Programs
welcomia via Getty Images
Nearly four dozen communities across the country will share in the money.
Forty-six communities across 30 states will share in nearly $315 million worth of newly awarded federal grants to help people who are living on the streets and in other unsheltered settings, or who are homeless in rural areas.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the grant winners on Thursday and said it is planning to release additional grants and related vouchers in the weeks ahead. Together, the grants and vouchers amount to a “first-of-its-kind package of resources to help communities provide housing and supportive service,” the department said.
HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge added in a statement that the funding would help “to improve housing and health outcomes for people on the streets, in encampments, under bridges, and in rural areas.”
The money will support projects like improving outreach, bolstering behavioral health services, and expanding permanent and supportive housing. The funding comes shortly after the Biden administration unveiled its Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, which calls for reducing homelessness by 25% by 2025.
The grants were awarded through the Continuum of Care program. Communities worked with health care organizations, housing authorities and people who have experienced homelessness to develop holistic plans for addressing the issue, the release said.
This is the first time HUD has coordinated grants and housing voucher distributions. Public housing authorities that formally partnered with winning Continuum of Care grantees will be prioritized in the distribution of 4,000 Housing Choice “Stability” Vouchers to help people afford safe and suitable housing.
Grantees securing the largest sums include Chicago ($60 million), Los Angeles ($60 million), Dallas ($22.8 million) and Miami-Dade County ($21 million).
Last month, HUD announced that through its House America partnership, the department worked with state, local and regional leaders to shift 100,000 households from homelessness to permanent housing and add 40,000 new affordable housing units to the development pipeline.
For a full list of grant winners, click here.
Molly Bolan is the assistant editor for Route Fifty.
NEXT STORY: Congress and Watchdogs Scrutinize Covid Aid Lost to Fraud