OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AWARDS ALMOST $3.5 MILLION IN HOMELESS GRANTS TO 21 LOCAL HOUSING & SERVICE PROGRAMS IN ALASKA

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced the Obama Administration is awarding $3,467,115 in grants to Alaska organizations to offer homeless individuals and families a wide range of housing and support services.

Anchorage will receive $2,683,141 in Continuum of Care funds and $83,240 in Emergency Shelter Grants while the
rest of the State will receive $578,094 in Continuum funds and $122,640 in Emergency Shelter grants.
(View Funding Details)

"With the foreclosure and unemployment crisis looming, millions of families - both homeowners and renters - are in danger of losing their homes so we must focus substantial resources to help those families find stable housing," said Donovan. "The grants being awarded today, along with the recovery plan's additional $1.5 billion, will offer a critical lifeline to those persons and families who, after a foreclosure or job loss, might otherwise be faced with
homelessness. Today we are announcing an unprecedented commitment to fund programs that have a proven track record of providing real housing solutions for our most vulnerable neighbors."

Included in today's announcement, HUD is awarding $24 million to create new pilot programs in 23 local communities
to rapidly re-house homeless families with children, including a $193,485 grant to the Beyond Shelter Services
program operated by Catholic Social Services in Anchorage. These local pilot programs will become the basis of a significantly expanded $1.5 billion effort to offer quick housing assistance to homeless families and to prevent homelessness among those facing a sudden economic crisis.

HUD's funding is provided in two ways:

• Continuum of Care 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. More than $1.5 billion in Continuum of Care grants are awarded competitively to local programs to meet the needs of their homeless clients. Continuum grants fund a wide variety of programs from street outreach and assessment programs to transitional and permanent housing for homeless persons and families. There are two principal Continuum programs.  The Supportive Housing Program (SHP) provides funds to develop supportive housing – including the acquisition or construction of housing - and supportive services to assist homeless persons in the transition from homelessness to independent living.  The Shelter Plus Care (S+C) program provides rental assistance and supportive services on a long-term basis for homeless persons with disabilities such as serious mental illness, chronic problems with alcohol and/or drugs,
  and AIDS or related diseases and their families.  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
  
  
• Emergency Shelter Grants provide funds for the operation of local shelters and fund related social service and homeless prevention programs. Emergency Shelter Grants that 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 away from a life on the street toward permanent housing.

This year, HUD launched a new electronic grant submission process called e-snaps. This new electronic system
allows applicants to store their submissions as they work on them and significantly reduces the time it takes HUD
staff to review these applications. It also saves considerable effort by avoiding burdensome and time-consuming
data entry. In the end, e-snaps will streamline and accelerate the process of awarding HUD grant to local homeless programs across the country.

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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 and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet
and espanol.hud.gov.