HUD SECRETARY DONOVAN ANNOUNCES $2.2 MILLION IN NEW GRANTS FOR THREE HOMELESS PROJECTS IN WASHINGTON

New funds are over and above $37.7 million in renewal grants awarded to Washington in January

SEATTLE, WA – April 28, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $2,199,963 to 11 new homeless programs in Washington state.

The grants announced today are in addition to $37.7 million that HUD awarded in January 2011 to renew funding for 199 existing homeless housing and service projects in Washington state. Today’s grant awards went to organizations based in Bellingham, Everett, Mt. Vernon, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Vancouver. (For more details, please see the Funding Table below or project specifics, by state, at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/comm_planning/homeless/budget/new2010)

“Today, we build on this Administration’s goal to prevent and end homelessness in America,” said Donovan. “This funding will make a significant impact in the lives of thousands of people and provide resources to put them on the road of independence.”

“Getting people off the streets depends on the hard work and dedication of organizations like these that are, day and night, on the streets, helping homeless individuals and families get back into stable homes and sustainable lifestyles,” said HUD Northwest Regional Administrator Mary McBride.  “Without them, this critical work could not get done.”

HUD awarded funding today to:

HUD’s Continuum of Care grants fund a wide range of transitional and permanent housing programs as well as supportive services such as job training, case management, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and child care. Street outreach and assessment programs to transitional and permanent housing for homeless persons and families are also funded through these grants.

All of today’s awards in Washington state were under HUD’s  Supportive Housing Program (SHP) which offers housing and supportive services to allow homeless persons to live as independently as possible.

Last year, 19 federal agencies in the Obama Administration announced a plan to end all homelessness through, Opening Doors, an unprecedented federal strategy to end veteran and chronic homelessness by 2015, and to end homelessness among children, families, and youth by 2020. In addition to the Continuum of Care grant program, HUD’s new Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing (HPRP) Program made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is making a major contribution to the Opening Doors strategy. To date, HPRP has allocated $1.5 billion to prevent more than 875,000 people from falling into homelessness or to rapidly re-house them if they do.

HUD’s homelessness grants are reducing long-term or chronic homelessness in America. Based on the Department’s latest Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), chronic homelessness has declined by 30 percent since 2006.  This decline is directly attributed to HUD’s homeless grants helping to create significantly more permanent housing for those who might otherwise be living on the streets.  It was also reported in the AHAR that the number of homeless families increased for the second consecutive year, almost certainly due to the ongoing effects of the recession.

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HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and  transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov

Contact:
Lee Jones
(206) 220-5356 (work) or (804) 363-7018 (cell)
Leland.Jones (at) hud (dot) gov