The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on January 29 awarded $2.5 billion to renew support to thousands of local homeless assistance programs across the nation.
HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) grants aim to provide critically needed support to 6,597 local programs on the front lines of serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Due to the pandemic, the funding renews grants for existing programs. This application process was dramatically streamlined because communities have been and will continue to be consumed with COVID-19 response and have limited capacity to participate in the traditional CoC competition.
“HUD wants to ensure that thousands of local homeless assistance providers continue to receive federal funds needed to provide stable housing for people experiencing homelessness during these trying times,” said Acting HUD Secretary Matt Ammon.
“Renewing these grants not only offers relief to our local partners but it allows Continuum of Care to continue their work to end homelessness and help keep our most vulnerable neighbors off the streets.”
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development James Arthur Jemison said, “We are excited about the opportunity to provide funding without diverting the attention of communities from the vital work of preventing, preparing for, and responding to the pandemic.”
Many homeless advocates and elected officials remain concerned that the pandemic will create a housing crisis that will dramatically add to the homeless population across the country.
A total of 365 agencies in Illinois received $125,935,531 in renewed grants. Many of the 143 agencies in Chicago received the largest grants in the state. Heartland Human Care Services, Inc. in Uptown received $3,469,231, the largest grant amount in Illinois.
HUD’s 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 experiencing homelessness.
Each year, HUD serves more than a million people through emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing programs.
