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New York State: HUD awards nearly $215 million to local homeless programs

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Mon, Jan 20th 2020 12:50 pm

Funding supports thousands of local homeless housing and service programs

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson recently announced nearly $2.2 billion in grants to support thousands of local homeless assistance programs across the nation. HUD’s “Continuum of Care” grants will provide critically needed support to approximately 6,593 local programs on the front lines, serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

This is the first of two announcements of awards. View a complete list of all the state and local homeless projects awarded funding.

New York state local homeless housing and service programs will receive $214,895,469. This is an increase of $15,144,347 from the past year.

“A safe, affordable place to call home is key when creating a path toward opportunity and self-sufficiency,” said Carson in Ohio, where he made the funding announcement. “The grants awarded today help our partners on the ground to reduce homelessness in their communities and help our most vulnerable neighbors.”

HUD “Continuum of Care” grant funding supports a broad array of interventions designed to assist individuals and families experiencing homelessness, particularly those living in places not meant for habitation, located in sheltering programs, or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. Each year, HUD serves more than a million people through emergency shelter, transitional, and permanent housing programs.

“The nearly $215 million in grants being awarded today by the Trump administration marks yet another year of record level of funding aimed at reducing homelessness in New York,” said Lynne Patton, HUD regional administrator for New York and New Jersey. “HUD recognizes the importance of supporting New York’s local homeless assistance programs.”

HUD continues to challenge state and local planning organizations called “Continuums of Care” to support their highest performing local programs that have proven most effective in meeting the needs of persons experiencing homelessness in their communities.

In 2019, most of the country experienced a combined decrease in homelessness, but significant increases in unsheltered and chronic homelessness on the West Coast, particularly California and Oregon, offset those nationwide decreases, causing an overall increase in homelessness of 2.7%. HUD’s 2019 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress found that 567,715 persons experienced homelessness on a single night in 2019, an increase of 2.7% since 2018, but nearly 11% decline since 2010. The number of families with children experiencing homelessness declined 5% from 2018 and more than 32% since 2010. Local communities also reported a continuing trend in reducing veteran homelessness across the country – the number of veterans experiencing homelessness fell 2.1% since January 2018 and by 50% since 2010.

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