Four area nonprofits received word May 5 they would lose access to continued funding through Tier 2 of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care grant program.
The local groups did not make the cut in HUD’s fiscal 2015 Continuum of Care Program Competition, which is providing $355 million in grants to over 1,200 local homeless housing and service programs across the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to
HUD.
The loss of area funds – at least more than $235,000 – represents a shift away from emergency and transitional housing, according to a news release from the Community Partnership of the Ozarks.
The move will impact four agencies and programs in Greene, Christian and Webster counties:
• Burrell Behavioral Health will lose $86,395 supporting Park Apartments, which provides housing for individuals with substance-abuse histories or who have been homeless, as well as additionally funded services including case management and counseling.
• The Missouri Department of Mental Health-Springfield Regional Center expects to have its Journey to Home Program affected by the cuts. The transitional-housing program provides rental assistance for chronically homeless individuals with mental health, substance abuse disorders and other disabilities. The amount the department is expected to lose was not available by deadline.
• Harmony House’s Transitional Housing Program will lose $48,259 as a result of HUD’s funding shift. The agency used the federal funds to provide transitional housing for local domestic violence survivors.
• The Salvation Army’s Family Enrichment Program will lose $103,459. The program supports the Family Enrichment Center, which offers transitional housing, as well as job training resources for homeless families.
“These federal funding cuts are devastating for the organizations effected, but even more so for the people they serve,” said Michelle Garand, deputy director of affordable housing and homeless prevention at CPO, in the release. “Nationally, there has been a shift in federal funding priorities to focus on permanent housing for the homeless. However, as a true Continuum of Care [organization], we understand there is a need for diverse programs, including emergency and transitional housing, to assist families and individuals in their time of need, and according to their individual needs.”
According to HUD, the department strongly encouraged applicants to prioritize their funding requests carefully, using a mix of performance data and local needs. Tier 2 funding follows up $1.6 billion in grants awarded in March, and the awards process was the most competitive ever, HUD’s funding announcement states. Overall, Continuum of Care agencies reallocated $124 million from lower-performing projects in order to secure funds for new projects.
