OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES $1,379,024 TO CONTINUE HELPING HOMELESS PERSONS AND FAMILIES IN NEW JERSEY
HUD grants renew support for 18 local housing and service projects

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $1,379,024 a second round of grants to support 18 local homeless housing and service programs in New Jersey. Provided through HUD’s Continuum of Care programs, funding announced today will ensure these HUD-assisted local homeless assistance programs remain operating in the coming year. Last March, HUD awarded additional support to hundreds of other existing local programs and will make a third round of funding to support selected new projects later this year. View a complete list of all the New Jersey homeless projects awarded funding on HUD's website.

"We know these modest investments in housing and serving our homeless neighbors not only saves money, but saves lives," said Donovan. "These local programs are on the front lines of the Obama Administrations efforts to prevent and end homelessness as we know it once and for all."

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.

"This second round of funding is welcome relief to so many homeless persons that continue to struggle towards self-sufficiency," said Acting Regional Administrator Mirza Orriols. "This federal funding also provides respite to so many dedicated organizations; advocates and volunteers that see the need and work tirelessly to assist the men, women, children, and veterans that still need shelter and a place to call home."

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 New Jersey, local communities reported a 7.8 percent overall decrease 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.

List of local housing and service projects

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on Twitter at @HUDnews or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.