BUSH ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES RECORD $1.4 BILLION TO HELP HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES
HUD funds will support 18 programs in Alaska

ANCHORAGE - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson today announced Alaska will receive $3,776,860 - an increase of nearly $200,000 over 2003 - to provide shelter and care for persons and families
without a home of their own. The funding to Alaska is part of more than $1.4 billion announced nationwide.

"President Bush is deeply committed to supporting our most vulnerable neighbors, and today I am pleased to
reconfirm that commitment," said Jackson. "This unprecedented level of funds will go directly to those on the front lines, who work tirelessly every day to bring an end to chronic homelessness, and who provide services to the many individuals and families without a home of their own."

Among Alaska's homeless service providers gaining funding from today's award are Anchorage Community Mental Health Services, Inc. with three awards totaling $943,275, and Rural Community Action Program's Homeward Bound with two awards totaling $498,642. St. Vincent de Paul Society in Juneau won a grant of $48,450 for transitional housing for homeless individuals and families, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. and the Tundra Women's Coalition, both in Bethel, will receive $110,976 to provide transitional housing for the chronically mentally ill and for homeless victims of domestic violence, and the Women's Resource & Crisis Center in Kenai will get $73,791,000 to provide transitional housing for homeless victims of domestic violence.

"These funds will provide organizations in Anchorage and in other parts of the state critical funds to help place homeless individuals and families into housing and provide the necessary care to keep them housed," said Alaska
Field Office Director Colleen Bickford.

This is the fourth consecutive year HUD is providing record funding for homeless assistance and is part of a larger federal strategy being embraced by a growing number of state and local communities to end long-term or chronic homelessness. The Municipality of Anchorage has recently completed its 10-Year Plan on Homelessness, and the State of Alaska is currently working on its plan through the State's Interagency Council on Homelessness.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

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U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Highlights Of HUD's Homeless Assistance

Jan. 25, 2005

HUD's homeless funding is provided in two ways:

• Continuum of Care (CoC) grants provide permanent and transitional housing to homeless persons. In addition, Continuum grants fund important services including job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and child care.

• Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) convert buildings into homeless shelters, assist in the operation of local shelters and fund related social service and homeless prevention programs.

Approximately $322 million of the Continuum grants awarded today will fund new and existing programs through
HUD's Shelter Plus Care (SPC) program which helps to pay rent and provide permanent housing for disabled homeless individuals and their families. The Shelter Plus Care program requires that HUD-funded projects help their clients live independently and provide needed supportive services from funding sources other than HUD.

Emergency Shelter Grants are allocated based on a formula to state and local governments to create, improve and operate emergency shelters for homeless persons. These funds may also support essential services including job training, health care, drug/alcohol treatment, childcare and homelessness prevention activities. By helping to
support emergency shelter, transitional housing and needed support services, Emergency Shelter Grants are
designed to move homeless persons toward permanent housing.

Combined, HUD's Continuum of Care and Emergency Shelter Grant programs will provide critically needed funding to more than 4,400 local programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. As a result, more than a quarter-million persons will receive the housing and services they need to become self-sufficient. For a more detailed local summary of the funding announced today, visit www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/budget/2004/index.cfm

• Largest total award of Federal funds for homeless assistance in history - more than $1.4 billion is being
  awarded to an unprecedented number of projects nationally, more than 4,400. This is also the fourth
  consecutive year funding for homeless assistance has increased to record levels.
  
  
• In Alaska, the total grant award is $3,776,860 - nearly $200,000 more than last year's grants.
  
  
• 1,089 of the project awards being announced today target individuals experiencing chronic homelessness.
  Total funding to these projects will exceed $370 million, a commitment that directly supports the national
  goal of ending chronic homelessness by 2012.
  
  
• Approximately half of all funding announced today, totaling $628 million, is being awarded to more than 1,100 projects that provide permanent housing solutions for homeless persons.
  
  
• More than 900 local projects that primarily serve mothers and their children will receive $220 million.
  
  
• Approximately 400 shelters that primarily serve victims of domestic violence will receive $92.6 million.
  
  
• Nearly $33.8 million is being awarded to 133 projects that primarily target homeless veterans among those
  they serve.
  
  
• Nearly 1,200 of the projects funded today are dedicated to providing housing and support services to severely mentally ill clients. These persons are at high risk of experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness.
  
  
• Nearly $372 million will support 1,193 local programs that primarily help homeless individuals with substance abuse problems.
  
  
• More than $9 million to provide job training and other employment services for homeless individuals.

The Goal to End Chronic Homelessness

For nearly four years, HUD has increasingly emphasized the Bush Administration's goal of ending chronic
homelessness in its assistance programs. Research indicates that approximately 10 percent of all homeless persons experience long-term or chronic homelessness or 150,000 people. These studies also find that this hardest-to-serve population utilizes over half of all emergency shelter resources designed to assist homeless individuals and families.
By shifting the federal emphasis toward meeting the needs of the most vulnerable homeless persons, more resources become available for those who experience homelessness as a temporary condition.