The Biden-Harris Presidential Administration has announced funding in the tune of $3.16 billion that will fund over 7,000 projects which represent the largest amount of annual federal funding through the Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care program in history.
The intent behind this funding is to expand housing and services projects for people experiencing homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault.
HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge made the announcement Jan. 29 with the Chatham-Savannah Interagency Council on Homelessness in Savannah, Georgia. The Chatham-Savannah Continuum of Care was awarded $4,104,782.
“Now, more than ever, we are doing all we can to get people off the street and into permanent homes with access to services. That is why we are making sure the service providers on the frontlines of this crisis have the resources they need,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “At HUD, we have served or permanently housed 1.2 million people experiencing homelessness in the last three years alone, building on President Biden’s efforts to keep Americans housed. The historic awards we are announcing today will expand community capacity to assist more people in obtaining the safety and stability of a home, along with the supports they need to achieve their life goals.”
The HUD’s Continuum of Care is the core of federal programs which support community homelessness response systems across the country, providing grants to nonprofit providers, individual states, Tribal Nations and Reservations, and local governments to fund permanent and short-term housing assistance, supportive services, planning, data, and other related costs to these programs.
Included in the $3.16 billion of total awards, approximately $136 million was made available for competitive and non-competitive Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) renewal and replacement grants. The 2023 awards also include approximately $57 million for new projects that will support housing and service needs for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. HUD also expanded the Continuum of Care program’s eligible activities to support protections available through the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 and to address the unique challenges Continuums of Care face when serving people experiencing homelessness in rural areas. The new eligible activities will allow for greater support for underserved populations.
Successful applicants demonstrated their community wide commitment to ending homelessness by highlighting local partnerships with health agencies, mainstream housing agencies, and others. Many communities are particularly focused on reducing unsheltered homelessness through a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach.
Award amounts range from $601,364,006 for California to $1,443,331 for Guam, and $197,737 for the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Click here and here for the full list of awards. For more information, check out the Housing Supply Action Plan, Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights, and the The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.
