FACT SHEET: HUD AWARDS HISTORIC INVESTMENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO ADDRESS THE HOMELESSNESS CRISIS

February 1, 2023

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), under the leadership of Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, is committed to housing people experiencing homelessness and providing them with safe, affordable, and sustainable living options. This is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration – illustrated by the American Rescue Plan (ARP)’s historic funding to address homelessness and the recently adopted Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, All In, which sets a national goal to reduce homelessness 25 percent by 2025.

Today, HUD awards $315 million to 46 cities and localities across 30 states to address unsheltered and rural homelessness. This announcement encourages coordinated planning among a variety of partners that include healthcare, Public Housing Agencies, other HUD-assisted housing providers, and people with lived experience. In the coming weeks, HUD will be awarding grants to an additional set of communities, as well as allocating additional housing vouchers to awarded communities.

This announcement builds on the agency’s progress to ending homelessness, including the House America initiative, delivery of ARP funds to unsheltered and homeless communities, and partnering with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reduce Veteran homelessness by 11% decline since early 2020.

• Below are some examples of what these new grants will do in communities across the country:
  • Chicago, Illinois will use its $60 million grant to implement a comprehensive plan to reduce unsheltered homelessness. This will also help strengthen homeless outreach and provide access to permanent housing.
  • Dallas, Texas will use its $22.8 million grant to invest in the expansion of homeless street outreach, permanent housing options, supportive services, and overall system improvements.
  • Kauai & Maui, Hawaii will use its $3 million grant to expand healthcare-related stabilization services to unsheltered homeless in the community and increase the supply of permanent supportive housing.
  • Los Angeles, California will use its $60 million grant to implement a comprehensive approach to transitioning people from unsheltered settings and interim housing to permanent housing, including investments in homeless outreach, short- and long-term rental assistance, case management, and housing navigation.
  • Miami-Dade County, Florida will use its $21 million grant to expand street outreach, short-term housing, and permanent supportive housing to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
  • The state of North Carolina will use its $21.8 million to address rural and unsheltered homelessness areas across a seven-county geographic area.
  • Portland, Oregon will use its $8.3 million grant to fund new permanent housing with enhanced behavioral health services, as well as to provide peer outreach to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

• In the first year of the Biden-Harris Administration, Secretary Fudge launched House America, a federal initiative to address the crisis of homelessness by through a Housing First approach.
  • In January 2023, HUD announced that the 105 municipalities, states, and tribes who joined House America have collectively housed more than 100,000 households experiencing homelessness and added over 40,000 affordable housing units into development.

• The American Rescue Plan Act delivered one of the largest investments in ending homelessness in U.S. history. The legislation included billions of dollars to house people currently experiencing homelessness and keep those in need housed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, HUD deployed:
  • $5 billion for emergency housing vouchers for individuals who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
  • $5 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program to help create housing and services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
  • $750 million for assistance for Native Americans and Native Hawaiians, helping reduce housing-related health risks during the pandemic.
  • $100 million to help people in rural communities keep their homes during the pandemic.
  • $100 million for grants to housing counseling providers to provide services to households facing housing instability.
  • $20 million to investigate fair housing complaints, strengthen enforcement, and assist those who believe they have been victims of housing discrimination.

• The Biden-Harris Administration has have made ending veteran homelessness a top priority:
  • VA, HUD and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) announced in 2022 that actions taken by the Biden-Harris Administration had reduced Veteran homelessness by 11% since 2020—the largest in Veteran homelessness in five years.

• Throughout the month of January, Biden-Harris Administration officials participated in Point-in-Time counts across the country:
  • During this process, HUD officials will strive towards better understanding the local needs, measure trends in homelessness, hear from the community and more accurately target federal resources.

See here for more information on the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to end homelessness.