Government awards $1.1 billion to homeless housing, services

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez Dec. 17 announced the largest amount of homeless assistance in the nation's history more than $1.1 billion to fund thousands of local housing and service programs around the country. The announcement signals a continuing effort by the Bush Administration to focus more resources on providing permanent housing and supportive services to the homeless including those persons who are mentally ill, addicted or disabled.

"We must continue to seek effective ways to help our most vulnerable neighbors to find the housing and services they need to break their cycle of homelessness," said Martinez. "The funding we announced is a critical step toward ending chronic homelessness while providing a helping hand to those individuals and families to avoid a life on the streets."

HUD's Continuum of Care and Emergency Shelter Grant programs will support more than 3,000 local programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. As a result, an estimated 740,000 persons will receive the housing and services they need to become self-sufficient.

Two types of grants will be awarded:

Continuum of Care grants provide permanent and transitional housing to homeless persons. In addition, these continuum grants fund services like job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and child care.

Emergency Shelter Grants convert buildings into homeless shelters, assist in the operation of local shelters and fund related social service and prevention programs.

$969 million in Continuum of Care grants is awarded through a competitive process. These grants provide each community the flexibility necessary to meet the needs of their homeless clients. Continuum grants fund outreach and assessment programs at the local level and provide transitional and permanent housing.

By contrast, $150 million in Emergency Shelter Grants are awarded to more than 300 jurisdictions by a formula based on that community's need. These grants help state and local governments create, improve and operate emergency shelters for homeless people. In addition, this source of funding may also support essential services including job training, health care, drug/alcohol treatment, childcare and other homelessness prevention activities.

Approximately $105 million of the continuum grants will renew funding of existing programs through HUD's Shelter Plus Care program that helps to pay rent and provide permanent housing for disabled homeless individuals and their families. The Shelter Plus Care program requires that HUD-funded projects help their clients live independently and provide needed supportive services from funding sources other than HUD.

Ending chronic homelessness is a primary goal of HUD's assistance programs. Research indicates that approximately 10 percent of all homeless persons are chronically homeless. Studies also find that this population consumes over half of the resources designed to assist all homeless individuals and families. By shifting the federal emphasis toward meeting the needs of the most vulnerable homeless persons, more resources become available for those who experience homelessness as a temporary condition.