The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced the award of $1.41 billion in renewal funding for 6,741 local homeless assistance programs.  The 12 month grants are part of the Obama Administration's Opening Doors strategy for ending homelessness and represent an increase of $40 million over awards made last year.  The Opening Doors strategy was detailed in a report, Opening Doors: a Federal Study for Ending Homelessness written by the Interagency Council on Homelessness representing 19 federal agencies last June and covered extensively by MND.

The Continuum of Care grants, as they are known, are designed to support a variety of services to get the homeless off the street, into transitional and ultimately permanent housing with the support needed to keep them housed.   Two-thirds of the grants are designed for transitional housing and one-third for support services including job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and child care.  The programs are active in 3,800 cities and counties in every state.

A press teleconference regarding the awards was held Wednesday afternoon hosted by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Mercedes Marquez, assistant secretary for community planning and development and Barbara Poppe, executive director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness.

The Secretary noted that the funds had arrived at a critical moment in a watershed year during which HUD had also allocated $1.5 billion in Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) Program funds.  HPRP is intended to prevent persons from falling into homelessness or to rapidly re-house them if they do.  To date, more than 750,000 persons have been assisted through that program.

"There is a tremendous need on our streets and in our shelters among those experiencing both long-term homelessness as well as families confronting a sudden economic crisis," said Donovan. "These grants are the life blood for thousands of local housing and service programs that are doing the heavy lifting to meet President Obama's goal of ending homelessness."

The bi-annual Let's Make Everyone Count campaign during which volunteers conduct a national one-night count of the homeless is scheduled for last week.  Donovan said that during the last count in January 2009 643,000 persons were found living on the streets or in shelters.  A follow-up found that over 2 million Americans were homeless at some point during the year and that they had the following characteristics:

• 78 percent of all sheltered homeless persons are adults;
•  61 percent are male;
• 62 percent are members of a minority group;
• 38 percent are 31-to-50 years old;  
• 64 percent are in one-person households, and
• 38 percent have a disability.

While the numbers of homeless have decreased since 2005, the number of homeless families has increased in each of the last two years, primarily as a result of the recession.

Donovan said that one program funded by the grants is Home First.  Contrary to the traditional model of treating homelessness where the individual must first get sober, undergo counseling or remain on medication before being placed in a home, Home First seeks to get the individual into stable housing then treat the underlying problem on the theory that it is nearly impossible to keep a patient healthy, sober, or medicated while they move from shelter to shelter.

Providing stable housing for the chronically homeless, Donovan said, virtually pays for itself.  The incidence of chronic homelessness has been reduced nearly 30 percent and the savings can be seen in reduced emergency room visits and hospital stays, fewer ambulance calls, and reduced jail time.   

There will be an announcement later in the year of new awards under the program.  As yet it has not been determined how much will be available for first time grants and grant applications are still being reviewed.  Donovan said, however, that his Department will continue to award new grants and renewal grants separately so as to be able to get renewal funds to those quickly to prevent any interruption in services.

Here is a breakdown of the projects and funds awarded on a state-by-state basis.