HUD AWARDS ALMOST $1.4 MILLION TO PORTLAND HOUSING BUREAU FOR PROJECT OF "NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE" PROVIDING HOUSING & SERVICES FOR PERSONS LIVING WITH AIDS
Portland is just one of seven communities nationwide to win grants

PORTLAND - The City of Portland Housing Bureau has been awarded a $1,365,900 grant by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant for its Springboard to Stability, Self-Sufficiency and Health (S4H) initiative that will serve some 60 households annually who are living with HIV/AIDS and who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness.

The Bureau's S4H program was one of seven cross-program initiatives nationwide to be funded by HUD as a Special Project of National Significance under HUD's Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program. Projects in Boston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Albany/Rochester and Maine also were selected for the almost $8.9 million in funding. A total of 46 initiatives were considered for the designation and funding.

"These resources will allow public agencies, nonprofits and housing authorities to forge new partnerships so that together, we can deliver comprehensive housing solutions and services for low-income families dealing with HIV," HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said. "These communities will be innovating to more effectively and efficiently assist vulnerable households with HIV and serve as models for others to improve health outcomes and reduce risks of homelessness."

"The Northwest in general and Portland in particular have long had reputations for developing cutting-edge solutions to some of our most vexing problems and innovative ways of serving our most vulnerable populations," said HUD Northwest Regional Administrator Mary McBride. "The Bureau's S4H initiative is another example of why the reputation is so deserved. We're confident it not only serve the homeless of Portland, but also serve as a model for other communities doing the same."

Portland's S4H project will serve some 60 households annually who are living with HIV/AIDS and are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness. Short-term rental assistance and supportive services will be provided through the Cascade AIDS Project while employment-related services will be provided through Work Systems, Inc, a Workforce Investment Board funded by the Department of Labor. This innovative model combines emergency and short-term housing assistance in a pooled continuum of eviction prevention, rapid re-housing and housing retention services. The results will serve as the basis for a model Integrated HIV/AIDS Housing Plan.

The organizations awarded "national significance" grants today were:

In collaboration with other parties, these seven awardees will offer supportive housing over the next three years to 208 households. Grants funded under this initiative advance HUD's implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) (http://aids.gov/federal-resources/policies/national-hiv-aids-strategy/) and will demonstrate models for a
next generation of improved coordination of housing and care for a vulnerable population. This better integration of housing support will also help achieve the Obama Administration's Opening Doors Strategy (http://www.usich.gov/PDF/OpeningDoors_2010_FSPPreventEndHomeless.pdf) to prevent and end homelessness.

The project was selected through a national HOPWA competition to identify Special Projects of National Significance that will help advance understanding and improve the delivery of housing and care for persons with HIV. HUD received 46 proposals under this competition. The projects will provide housing assistance to eligible persons in their communities during the next three years. Planning efforts will also concurrently examine new approaches for comprehensively integrating local services and in coordinating and streamlining where possible the delivery of those services in their community.

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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.