OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AWARDS $31.3 MILLION IN GRANTS TO MORE THAN 140 HOMELESS PROGRAMS IN LOUISIANA
New pilot program in New Orleans to focus on rapidly rehousing newly homeless families with children

NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced that the Obama Administration is awarding $31,364,468 in grants to more than 140 homeless programs throughout Louisiana. These grants offer homeless individuals and families a wide range of housing and support services, and nationally, nearly
$1.6 billion was awarded. A complete list of the Louisiana grantee organizations and amounts of funding follows.

(Note to Baton Rouge, Jefferson Parish, Shreveport and New Orleans reporters: To get the total amount awarded to your city/parish, you must add the CoC Grant amount to the Emergency Shelter Grant Amount. View ESG grants.)

"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 additional $1.5 billion that is contained in the American Recovery and Revitalization Act, will offer a critical lifeline to those persons and families who, after a foreclosure or job loss, might otherwise be faced with homelessness."

Included in today's announcement is $2 million to New Orleans for a new pilot program that is being tested in 23 communities across the county to rapidly rehouse homeless families with children. The pilot program 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 homeless 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. 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.
  
  Continuums of Care are State and local planning agencies that coordinate their area's response to
  homelessness. They prioritize their area's needs and submit funding applications to HUD on behalf of the
  housing and service projects in their area.
  
  
• Emergency Shelter Grants provide funds for the operation of local shelters and fund-related social service
  and homeless prevention programs. Emergency Shelter Grants are allocated to State and local governments,
  based on a formula, 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.

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