OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AWARDS $4,632,591 IN HOMELESS GRANTS THROUGHOUT OKLAHOMA
Funding to support 42 existing housing and service programs

WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is renewing grant funding needed to keep 42 grantees in local homeless assistance programs throughout Iowa operating. The funding is part of nearly $1.4 billion that will help an unprecedented 6,400 existing programs nationwide to continue offering critically needed housing and services to homeless persons and families.

The grants announced today are being awarded through HUD's Continuum of Care programs. For the first time
ever, HUD is quickly providing renewal grants to local programs to prevent any interruption in federal assistance
and will announce funding to new projects in early 2010. For a local summary of the grants announced today,
visit HUD's website.

"As we move into the coldest time of the year, it's critical that no program risk running out of money to keep
their doors open," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "These grants will make certain that those programs on
the front lines of helping the homeless have the resources they need to house and serve persons who might otherwise be forced to turn to the streets."

HUD's 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. These grants fund a wide variety of programs from street outreach and assessment programs to transitional and permanent housing for homeless persons and families (see attached summary of the funding awarded today).

HUD's homelessness grants are reducing long-term or chronic homelessness in America. Based on the Department's latest homeless assessment, chronic homelessness has declined since 2005. This decline is directly attributed to HUD's homeless grants helping to create significantly more permanent housing for those who might otherwise be living on the streets. However, data also indicates that family homelessness may be on the rise, particularly in suburban and rural areas.

Earlier this year, HUD allocated an additional $1.5 billion through its new Homeless Prevention and Rapid
Re-housing (HPRP) Program. Made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, HPRP
is intended to prevent persons from falling into homelessness or to rapidly re-house them if they do.

More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

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