On December 18, 2002, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez announced the largest amount of homeless assistance in the nation's history - more than $1.1 billion to fund thousands of local housing and service programs around the country. In South Dakota $2.1 million was awarded to Sioux Falls Housing Redevelopment Commission and Inter-Lakes Community Action, Incorporated. The South Dakota Housing Development Authority was awarded $346,000 for Emergency Shelter.

Sioux Falls Housing and Redevelopment Commission (http://www.geocities.com/sfhrc1/) received over $800,000 for a new Shelter Plus Care (SPC) program plus over $117,000 to renew their existing SPC program. These programs provide Housing Choice Vouchers to assist homeless individuals who also have a serious mental illness. In addition to housing assistance, the programs provide case management and access to supportive services from Southeastern Behavior HealthCare (http://www.southeasternbh.org/) (SBH) through its Community Support Services.

The new three-year grant will provide support to approximately 31 participants. The renewal funding will allow 19 participants to remain in the program. For further information about these programs, contact Sioux Falls Housing and Redevelopment at (605) 332-0704.

Inter-Lakes Community Action Program (ICAP) (http://www.interlakescap.com/) received over $1.1 million to expand the Heartland House program (http://www.interlakescap.com/Trial/housing_services.htm). Heartland House provides transitional living services to homeless families. Families in this program live in transitional housing, and receive extensive case management services in order to move from homelessness to permanent housing. The grant will allow the program to grow from serving 15 families to serving 31 families. In order to be eligible, the family must be homeless and must commit to the fulfillment of a family self-sufficiency plan, which details the family's goals for itself. For information about this program call the Heartland House at (605) 336-6583.

South Dakota Housing Development Authority (SDHDA) (http://www.sdhda.org) will distribute the Emergency Shelter Grant to emergency shelters throughout the state. The Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program provides homeless persons with basic shelter and essential supportive services. It can be used to assist with the operational costs of the shelter facility and the administration of the grant. ESG also provides short-term homeless prevention assistance to persons at imminent risk of losing their own housing due to eviction, foreclosure, or utility shutoffs. For further information about this program contact SDHDA at (605) 773-3181.

Applications for the homeless grants in South Dakota were made through the South Dakota Homeless Consortium (SDHC) (http://www.sdhda.org/sdhc/index.htm), a statewide organization of homeless providers. The SDHC seeks to empower homeless individuals and families to regain self-sufficiency to the maximum extent possible by:

• Facilitating coordination among concerned organizations and individuals.
• Facilitating statewide discussion and awareness of homelessness in South Dakota.
• Coordinating projects and grant-writing activities, including the Statewide Continuum of Care Application.
• Assessing the gaps and assets to ensure the statewide needs are met.

Content Archived: April 5, 2011