HUD Archives: News Releases

ARKANSAS RECEIVES $4 MILLION FROM HUD TO CONTINUE HELPING HOMELESS PERSONS AND FAMILIES
Grants renew support for 21 local homeless housing and service projects across the State

LITTLE ROCK - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $4,085,983 to renew support for 21 local homeless housing and service programs in Arkansas. Provided through HUD's Continuum of Care programs, the funding announced today will ensure these HUD-assisted local homeless assistance programs remain operating in the coming year. Later this year, HUD will award additional grant funding to support hundreds of other local programs, including new projects. A complete list of projects funded in Arkansas follows.

"The evidence is clear that every dollar we spend on those programs that help find a stable home for our homeless neighbors not only saves money but quite literally saves lives," said Donovan. "We know these programs work and we know these grants can mean the difference between homeless persons and families finding stable housing or living on our streets."

HUD's Continuum of Care grants are awarded competitively to local projects to meet the needs of their homeless clients. The grants fund a wide variety of programs from street outreach and assessment programs to transitional and permanent housing for homeless persons and families. HUD funds are a critical part of the Obama Administration's strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness.

While the Fiscal Year 2012 funds awarded today are not impacted by the automatic across-the-board budget cuts under sequestration that began March 1st, Donovan cautioned that future budget cuts may reverse significant reported declines in homelessness: "During this challenging budget climate, we must make certain that we don't balance our books on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. When we make even modest investments in these programs, we see a measureable decline in homelessness."

HUD recently announced its 2012 "point in time" estimate of the number of homeless persons in America. Approximately 3,000 cities and counties reported 633,782 homeless persons on a single night in January of 2012, largely unchanged from the year before. While HUD found significant declines among the long-term homeless and veterans, local communities reported an increase in the number of sheltered and unsheltered families with children. In Arkansas, local communities reported a 23.1 percent overall rise in homelessness in 2012.

HUD's Continuum of Care grants announced today will continue offering 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.

In 2010, 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.

AR-500 - Little Rock/Central Arkansas CoC
AR-500 - REN - 13th Street SHP 2012 $112,217
AR-500 - REN - Arkansas Management Information System $99,210
AR-500 - REN - Beyond Shelter SHP 2012 $42,194
AR-500 - REN - FY2012 Family Housing Project Application $162,568
AR-500 - REN - FY2012 Transitions Project Application $36,370
AR-500 - REN - Get Yourself Together Housing Program $71,846
AR-500 - REN - Little Rock Community Mental Health Center Heart Program $96,088
AR-500 - REN - LR Community Mental Health Ctr. Outreach, Assessment and Treatment Prog. $36,311
AR-500 - REN - Little Rock Community Mental Health Center Shelter Plus Care Program #2 $449,692
AR-500 - REN - Little Rock Community Mental Health Center Shelter Plus Care Program #3 $1,057,456
AR-500 - REN - Little Rock Community Mental Health Center Shelter Plus Care Program #44 $28,863
AR-500 - REN - Little Rock Community Mental Health Center Shelter Plus Care Project $433,922
AR-500 - REN - Little Rock Community Mental Health Center Single Room Occupancy Program $41,342
AR-500 - REN - Little Rock Community Mental Health Center Transitional Housing at Gaines House $45,896
AR-500 - REN - River City Ministry Step Program $72,423
AR-500 - REN - The Jericho Coalition $605,473
AR-500 - Total: Little Rock/Central Arkansas CoC $3,391,871

AR-503 - Mississippi, Phillips Counties CoC
AR-503 - REN - Shelter Plus Care FY2012 $34,771
AR-503 - REN - Transitional Housing 2 $200,000
AR-503 - Total Mississippi, Phillips Counties CoC $234,771
 
AR-504 - Delta Hills CoC
AR-504 - REN - Mill Center SHP Permanent Housing $148,913
AR-504 - Total DeltaHills CoC $148,913
 
AR-505 - Southeast Arkansas CoC
AR-505 - REN - City of Pine Bluff Supportive Housing $279,041
AR-505 - REN - Transitional Housing for Victims of Domestic Violence $31,307
AR-505 - Total Southeast Arkansas CoC $310,348

Arkansas State Total: $4,085,903

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