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Obama administration announces $182 million to continue helping homeless persons and families in New York

by jmaloni

Press release

Wed, Mar 13th 2013 11:30 pm

HUD grants renew support for 653 local housing and service projects

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan awarded more than $182 million Wednesday to renew support for 653 local homeless housing and service programs in New York state. Provided through HUD's "Continuum of Care"programs, the funding announced will ensure these HUD-assisted local homeless assistance programs remain operating in the coming year. Later this year, HUD will award additional grant funding to support hundreds of other local programs, including new projects at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/comm_planning/homeless/budget/2012

"The evidence is clear that every dollar we spend on those programs that help find a stable home for our homeless neighbors not only saves money, but quite literally saves lives," Donovan said. "We know these programs work, and we know these grants can mean the difference between homeless persons and families finding stable housing or living on our streets."

HUD's "Continuum of Care" grants are awarded competitively to local projects to meet the needs of their homeless clients. The grants fund a wide variety of programs from street outreach and assessment programs to transitional and permanent housing for homeless persons and families. HUD funds are a critical part of the Obama administration's strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness.

"I'm delighted that we have over 650 local grantees that are truly on the ground in helping those who might otherwise be calling the streets home," said Acting Regional Administrator Mirza Orriols.

While the fiscal year 2012 funds awarded are not impacted by the automatic across-the-board budget cuts under sequestration that began March 1, Donovan cautioned that future budget cuts may reverse significant reported declines in homelessness.

"During this challenging budget climate, we must make certain that we don't balance our books on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens," he said. "When we make even modest investments in these programs, we see a measurable decline in homelessness."

HUD recently announced its 2012 "point in time" estimate of the number of homeless persons in America. Approximately 3,000 cities and counties reported 633,782 homeless persons on a single night in January of 2012, largely unchanged from the year before. While HUD found significant declines among the long-term homeless and veterans, local communities reported an increase in the number of sheltered and unsheltered families with children. In New York, local communities reported a 9.6 percent overall rise in homelessness in 2012.

HUD's "Continuum of Care" grants announced Wednesday will continue offering permanent and transitional housing to homeless persons, as well as services including job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and child care. "Continuum of Care" grants are awarded competitively to local programs to meet the needs of their homeless clients.

In 2010, President Obama and 19 federal agencies and offices that form the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness launched the nation's first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness. "Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness" puts the country on a path to end veterans and chronic homelessness by 2015 and to ending homelessness among children, family and youth by 2020.

HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov.

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