PHILADELPHIA RECEIVES $25.9 MILLION TO HELP THOUSANDS OF HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES
HUD funds will support 25 programs in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA - Housing and Urban Development Regional Director Milton R. Pratt, Jr. today announced Philadelphia will receive $25.9 million to provide shelter and care for persons and families without a home of their own. The funding to Philadelphia is part of $1.4 billion announced nationwide—the largest single commitment of federal funds supporting an unprecedented number of local projects on the front lines of caring for people who might otherwise be living on the streets.

Pratt announced the funding at Gaudenzia Tioga Arms, the construction site of 22 transitional apartments for women and children who have completed Gaudenzia's drug and alcohol treatment programs. HUD funds will subsidize the rents for the families who live in the apartments.

"The Bush Administration is delivering on its commitment to help our most vulnerable neighbors," said Pratt. "These funds will help Philadelphia's local homeless providers, like Gaudenzia, to reach the city's most needy and put them
on the path to self sufficiency."

Pratt presented a check to city leaders for more than $25.9 million to support a wide range of housing and service programs throughout the city.

"This funding is going to make a tremendous impact on Philadelphia and the lives of its disadvantaged," said Sen.
Arlen Specter. "By enabling our disadvantaged residents to overcome homelessness and poverty we can help them realize their full potential and become more productive members of our community."

This is the fourth consecutive year HUD is providing record funding for homeless assistance and is part of a larger federal strategy being embraced by a growing number of state and local communities to end long-term or chronic homelessness.

HUD's 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.
  
  
• Emergency Shelter Grants convert buildings into homeless shelters, assist in the operation of local shelters
  and fund related social service and homeless prevention programs.

Combined, HUD's Continuum of Care and Emergency Shelter Grant programs will provide critically needed funding to more than 4,400 local programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. As a result, more than a quarter-million persons will receive the housing and services they need to become self-sufficient. For a more detailed local summary of the funding announced today, visit the Internet.

More than $1.2 billion in 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.

Emergency Shelter Grants are allocated based on a formula to state and local governments 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 toward permanent housing.

Approximately $322 million of the Continuum grants awarded will fund new and existing programs through HUD's Shelter Plus Care program which helps to pay rent and provide permanent housing for disabled homeless individuals and their families. The Shelter Plus Care program requires that HUD-funded projects help their clients live independently and provide needed supportive services from funding sources other than HUD.

The Goal to End Chronic Homelessness

For nearly four years, HUD has increasingly emphasized the Bush Administration's goal of ending chronic
homelessness in its assistance programs. Research indicates that approximately 10 percent of all homeless persons experience long-term or chronic homelessness or 150,000 people. These studies also find that this hardest-to-serve population utilizes over half of all emergency shelter resources designed to assist homeless individuals and families.
By shifting the federal emphasis toward meeting the needs of the most vulnerable homeless persons, more resources become available for those who experience homelessness as a temporary condition. To learn more about chronic homelessness, visit the Internet.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF HUD'S HOMELESS ASSISTANCE

• Largest total award of Federal funds for homeless assistance in history - more than $1.4 billion is being
  awarded to an unprecedented number of projects nationally, more than 4,400. This is also the fourth
  consecutive year funding for homeless assistance has increased to record levels.
  
  
• 1,089 of the project awards being announced today target individuals experiencing chronic homelessness.
  Total funding to these projects will exceed $370 million, a commitment that directly supports the national
  goal of ending chronic homelessness by 2012.
  
  
• Approximately half of all funding announced today, totaling $628 million, is being awarded to more than 1,100 projects that provide permanent housing solutions for homeless persons.
  
  
• More than 900 local projects that primarily serve mothers and their children will receive $220 million.
  
  
• Approximately 400 shelters that primarily serve victims of domestic violence will receive $92.6 million.
  
  
• Nearly $33.8 million is being awarded to 133 projects that primarily target homeless veterans among those
  they serve.
  
  
• Nearly 1,200 of the projects funded today are dedicated to providing housing and support services to
  severely mentally ill clients. These persons are at high risk of experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness.
  
  
• Nearly $372 million will support 1,193 local programs that primarily help homeless individuals with substance
  abuse problems.
  
  
• More than $9 million to provide job training and other employment services for homeless individuals.