HUD announced on February 2 the first cohort of communities to receive grants and vouchers to address unsheltered and rural homelessness, awarding nearly $315 million to 46 cities and localities across 30 states. In the coming weeks, HUD will award grants to additional communities and allocate additional housing vouchers to awarded communities.
The first-of-its-kind package of grants and vouchers will help communities provide housing and supportive services to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and those experiencing homelessness in rural areas. The initiative encourages coordinated planning and collaboration among a variety of partners, such as health care provides, public housing authorities (PHA), and people with lived experience. Continuum of Care (CoC) collaborative applicants were directed to formally partner with PHAs to leverage the housing resources. PHAs that are partnering with CoC grantees will be prioritized for approximately 4,000 Housing Choice Stability Vouchers.
Communities will use the resources to implement a comprehensive plan to reduce unsheltered and rural homelessness that strengthens homeless outreach, increases the supply of permanent housing, and expands supportive services. Learn more about how grantees will implement the funds here.
“Homelessness is a crisis, and it is solvable,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “Housing with supportive services solves homelessness. That’s why for the first time the federal government is deploying targeted resources to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness in unsheltered settings or in rural areas. With these grants and vouchers, HUD is filling this gap and giving communities the resources and tools to improve housing and health outcomes for people on the streets, in encampments, under bridges, and in rural areas.”
Read the press release announcing the grants at: https://bit.ly/3HQDfe8
Learn more about HUD’s initiative at: https://bit.ly/40n6rka
Find a list of grantees at: https://bit.ly/3XY5rBb