HUD AWARDS $38.6 MILLION TO MORE THAN 200 HOMELESS PROGRAMS IN WASHINGTON STATE
Funding supports Obama Administration strategy to prevent and end homelessness

SEATTTLE - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and HUD Northwest Regional Administrator Mary McBride today awarded $38,610,507 to renew funding to 208 programs serving the homeless in Washington state, up from $37,735,249 last year. (SEE LIST OF SUB-GRANTEES AND LOCATIONS BELOW).

The funding announced today will ensure these housing and service programs remain operating in 2012 and are a critical part of the Obama Administration's strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. HUD is renewing funding through its Continuum of Care programs to existing local programs as quickly as possible to prevent any interruption in federal assistance and will award funds to new projects in early 2012.

"The grants we're awarding today will literally keep the doors of our shelters open and will help those on the front lines of ending homelessness do what they do best," said Donovan. "It's incredible that as we work to recover from the greatest economic decline since the Great Depression, the total number of homeless Americans is declining, in large part because of these funds."

"From 2010 to 2011 in some communities we have seem modest decline and, in others, a modest increase in the number of families and individuals who don't have place to call home," said HUD Northwest Regional Administrator Mary McBride. "There is, in other words, lots of work to be done. Fortunately, we have a large number of hard working and tireless partners to help us achieve our ultimate goal of ending homelessness in America. In the months and years ahead, their focus, like ours, will continue to be on the hundreds of thousands of homeless Americans still in need of a roof over their heads."

HUD today awarded Continuum of Care renewal funding to the following homeless providers in Washington state:

HUD's Continuum of Care grants announced today provide 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. These grants fund a wide variety of programs from street outreach and assessment programs to transitional and permanent housing for homeless persons and families.

Continuum of Care grants are awarded in three basic categories. First, SHP, or Supportive Housing Program, typically offers clients up to two years of transitional housing + needed support services. Second, S+C, or Shelter Plus Care, provides rental assistance for hard-to-serve homeless persons with disabilities in connection with supportive services funded from sources outside the program. Shelter Plus Care (S+C) is a program designed to provide housing and supportive services on a long-term basis for homeless persons with disabilities, (primarily those with serious mental illness, chronic problems with alcohol and/or drugs, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or related diseases) and their families who are living in places not intended for human habitation (e.g., streets) or in emergency shelters. The program allows for a variety of housing choices, and a range of supportive services funded by other sources, in response to the needs of the hard-to-reach homeless population with disabilities. Third, the SRO Program provides rental assistance for homeless persons in connection with the moderate rehabilitation of SRO dwellings. SRO housing contains units for occupancy by one person. These units may contain food preparation or sanitary facilities, or both.

Last week, HUD announced its 2011 "point in time" estimate of the number of homeless persons in America. Approximately 3,000 cities and counties reported 636,000 homeless persons on a single night in January of 2011, a 2.1 percent decline from the year before. This documented reduction in homelessness was noticed among all population groups including individuals, families, and those experiencing long-term or chronic homeless. In addition, HUD's estimate reveals a 12 percent reduction in homelessness among veterans.

Last year, President Obama and 19 federal agencies and offices that form the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) 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.

In addition to HUD's annual grant awards, HUD allocated $1.5 billion through its Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing (HPRP) Program. Made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, HPRP is intended to prevent persons from falling into homelessness or to rapidly re-house them if they do. To date, more than one million persons have been assisted through HPRP.

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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. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDnews, on facebook atwww.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.