Emergency Shelter Grants Quick Facts

Information by State  Print version   HUD Resources Monitoring Guidance PDF

Summary:

Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) awards grants for the rehabilitation or conversion of buildings into homeless shelters. It also funds certain related social services, operating expenses, homeless prevention activities, and administrative costs.

Purpose:

ESG supplements State, local, and private efforts to improve the quality and number of emergency homeless shelters. By funding emergency shelter and related social services, ESG provides a foundation for homeless people to begin moving to independent living.

Type of Assistance:

HUD allocates ESG funds annually based on the formula used for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

Eligible Grantees:

ESG provides funds to States, territories, and qualified cities and counties. Beginning October 1, 1998, Indian Tribes are no longer eligible for ESG funds: they may carry out these activities using the new Native American Housing Block Grant. States and territories that receive ESG must distribute the funds to local governments or private nonprofit organizations. Local governments may administer all of the grant themselves or distribute the funds to private nonprofit organizations. They must also match ESG grants dollar-for-dollar from non-ESG sources. States and territories do not need to match the first $100,000 of a grant.

Eligible Customers:

A person must be homeless (or at great risk of becoming immediately homeless) to receive help from ESG projects.

Eligible Activities:

Grantees may use ESG for:

They may also use ESG for:

Grantees may use up to 30 percent of a grant for essential services and homelessness prevention activities. They may request a waiver on the cap on essential services. With the exception of homelessness prevention activities, grantees must use the property as a homeless shelter for a specific period.

Application:

HUD awards ESG funds through a preset formula to States, territories, and qualified cities and urban counties. To receive ESG funds, grantees must have an approved Consolidated Plan that includes plans for using ESG funds to address the jurisdiction's homeless assistance needs.

Descriptions of planned and recently implemented activities undertaken by individual grantees with ESG funds are described in summaries of each community's Consolidated Plan, available online at HUD's website.

Funding Status:

Congress funds ESG together with several other programs as Homeless Assistance Grants. These other programs include: the Supportive Housing; Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation for Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Dwellings; and Shelter Plus Care. Since FY 1996, HUD has allocated $115 million per year in ESG grants. To see Allocation amounts for each participating entitlement community .

Technical Guidance:

ESG is authorized under Subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11371et seq.). Program regulations are at 24 CFR 576. These regulations, program notices, and other relevant technical information on ESG are available electronically through HUDCLIPS. The Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs in HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) administers the program. Contact: Susan Ziff, 451 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410, (202) 708-0614 ext. 5464. Hearing impaired users may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.