NOTE: List of all grant recipients by state

BALTIMORE - President Clinton today announced $850 million in grants to help more than 330,000 homeless Americans get housing, job training, child care, mental health services and substance abuse treatment so they can move from homelessness to self-sufficiency.

The assistance announced today will go to more than 300 communities, all 50 state governments, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and American territories. In addition, more than 1,000 non-profit organizations such as the Salvation Army, Volunteers of America and Catholic Charities will receive funding for homeless assistance programs.

"These grants will transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our country," President Clinton said in Baltimore, where he announced the assistance. "In this holiday season, we are giving homeless Americans the most precious gift of all - a brighter future filled with hope and prosperity, instead of despair and poverty. Our assistance will help homeless people across this nation to achieve the American Dream of decent housing, a job with a living wage, and a chance for their children to build successful lives."

"The President's policies recognize that if we provide homeless people with the help they need, they can overcome their problems and work their way out of poverty," Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo said. "I have met men and women across this nation who would be dead today or would be living on the streets if not for our programs."

A total of $700 million of the HUD assistance is targeted to 1,420 long-term programs to help individuals and families permanently end their homeless status, as part of HUD's Continuum of Care approach to homelessness.

Programs funded by the Continuum of Care grants will provide transitional and permanent housing assistance and will help people overcome problems that can lead to homelessness, such as a lack of basic education and job skills, mental illness and drug addiction. The grants are awarded to states, local governments and non-profit groups based on a number of factors that measure the effectiveness of plans to help homeless people become self-sufficient.

The remaining $150 million in funds are for Emergency Shelter Grants that provide food and shelter on a short-term basis to homeless people. These grants are awarded through a formula based on a community's housing and poverty needs. States and cities select projects to receive funding.

"Every homeless person has a story of enormous personal tragedy and incredible hardship," Cuomo said. "Helping these men, women and children rebuild their lives isn't easy, but it's one of the most important investments we can make. It's an investment that says America is the land of opportunity not just for some of us, but for all us."

President Clinton successfully won approval of increased funding for homeless assistance programs to $975 million in his fiscal 1999 budget. He had proposed an even larger increase that would have boosted funding to $1.15 billion.

The President's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2000 will call for a record $1.125 billion in funding for HUD programs for homeless Americans, including: $1.025 billion for the same type of grants announced today and $100 million in rental assistance vouchers under the Section 8 program to enable 18,000 homeless individuals and families to live in subsidized apartments.

HUD has invested nearly $5 billion in programs to help homeless Americans since President Clinton took office in 1993. That's more than three times as much as the $1.5 billion HUD spent on homeless assistance programs from the time they were created in 1987 until 1993.

The Continuum of Care, which is the centerpiece of the federal policy on homelessness announced by President Clinton in 1993, stresses permanent solutions to homelessness through comprehensive and collaborative community planning.

Communities submit Continuum of Care plans to HUD that reflect efforts to address the complexities of homelessness through a range of housing and services. The services have a short-term goal of providing emergency assistance and assessment of a homeless person's needs and a long-term goal of helping the person to obtain permanent housing and become self-sufficient.

Cuomo said the Continuum of Care approach has been successful because it brings together non-profit groups, the private sector and local and state governments in a partnership to design local programs to help homeless people become self-sufficient.

This year, the Continuum of Care was one of 25 finalists, out of 1,400 competitors, for the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award that is awarded by the Ford Foundation and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

A Columbia University study concluded that HUD's homeless policies spelled out in the Continuum of Care "have had a positive impact on communities across the nation" and were an improvement from past efforts that focused on short-term emergency shelter.

LISTING OF HUD HOMELESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM GRANTS

Here is a list of Department of Housing and Urban Development homeless assistance program grants announced today. Continuum of Care (CoC) Grants are for long-term programs designed to help homeless people get permanent housing and jobs to become self-sufficient. Emergency Shelter Grants provide short-term food and shelter.

ALABAMA - $6.6 million, including: CoC - $4.5 million and ESG - $2.1 million.

ALASKA - $1.8 million, including: CoC - $1.6 million and ESG - $192,000.

ARIZONA - $13.7 million, including: CoC - $11.9 million and ESG - $1.8 million.

ARKANSAS-$2.8 million, including: CoC - $1.7 million and ESG - $1.1 million.

CALIFORNIA - $141.5 million, including: CoC - $123.1 million and ESG - $18.4 million.

COLORADO - $7.7 million, including: CoC - $6.2 million and ESG - $1.5 million.

CONNECTICUT - $6.7 million, including: CoC - $5 million and ESG - $1.7 million.

DELAWARE - $2.7 million, including: CoC - $2.4 million and ESG - $281,000.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA - $9.7 million, including: CoC -$8.9 million and ESG - $827,000.

FLORIDA - $35.6 million, including: CoC - $29.4 million and ESG - $6.2 million.

GEORGIA - $17.5 million, including: CoC - $14.5 million and ESG - $3 million.

HAWAII - $3.1 million, including: CoC - $2.5 million and ESG - $637,000.

IDAHO - $1.7 million, including: CoC - $1.3 million and ESG - $414,000.

ILLINOIS - $47.1 million, including: CoC - $39.5 million and ESG - $7.6 million.

INDIANA - $13.5 million, including: CoC - $10.6 million and ESG - $2.9 million.

IOWA - $6.8 million, including: CoC - $5.2 million and ESG - $1.6 million.

KANSAS - $1.2 million, all for ESG.

KENTUCKY - $12.2 million, including: CoC - $10.2 million and ESG - $2 million.

LOUISIANA - $14.4 million, including: CoC - $11.5 million and ESG - $2.9 million.

MAINE - $780,000, all for ESG.

MARYLAND - $17.4 million, including: CoC - $15.2 million and ESG - $2.2 million.

MASSACHUSETTS - $33.5 million, including: CoC - $29 million and ESG - $4.5 million.

MICHIGAN - $34.2 million, including: CoC - $28.6 million and ESG - $5.6 million.

MINNESOTA - $14.6 million, including: CoC - $12.1 million and ESG - $2.5 million.

MISSISSIPPI - $2.2 million, including: CoC - $650,256 and ESG - $1.6 million.

MISSOURI- $27.9 million, including: CoC - $25.0 million and ESG - $2.9 million.

MONTANA - $1.4 million, including: CoC - $1 million and ESG - 363,000.

NEBRASKA - $4.9 million, including: CoC - $4.1 million and ESG - $828,000.

NEVADA - $3.7 million, including: CoC - $3.2 million and ESG - $563,000.

NEW HAMPSHIRE - $3.2 million, including: CoC - $2.7 million and ESG - $511,000.

NEW JERSEY - $22.7 million, including: CoC - $18.4 million and ESG - $4.3 million.

NEW MEXICO - $3.6 million, including: CoC - $2.8 million and ESG - $805,000.

NEW YORK - $99 million, including: CoC - $84.4 million and ESG - $14.6 million.

NORTH CAROLINA - $7 million, including: CoC - $4.4 million and ESG - $2.6 million.

NORTH DAKOTA -$285,000, all for ESG.

OHIO - $34.6 million, including: CoC - $27.9 million and ESG - $6.7 million.

OKLAHOMA - $1.3 million, including: ESG - $1.3 million.

OREGON - $7.9 million, including: CoC - $6.5 million and ESG - $1.4 million.

PENNSYLVANIA - $54.8 million, including: CoC - $45.5 million and ESG - $9.3 million.

RHODE ISLAND - $4.5 million, including: CoC - $3.8 million and ESG - $712,000.

SOUTH CAROLINA - $6.3 million, including: CoC - $4.7 million and ESG - $1.6 million.

SOUTH DAKOTA - $566,325, including: CoC - $222,325 and ESG - $344,000.

TENNESSEE - $11.1 million, including: CoC - $9 million and ESG - $2 million.

TEXAS - $39.2 million, including: CoC - $28.8 million and ESG - $10.4 million.

UTAH - $2.1 million, including: CoC - $1.3 million and ESG - $824,000.

VERMONT - $2 million, including: CoC - $1.7 million and ESG - $338,000.

VIRGINIA - $13.1 million, including: CoC - $10.7 million and ESG - $2.4 million.

WASHINGTON STATE - $22.1 million, including: CoC - $19.8 million and ESG - $2.3 million.

WEST VIRGINIA - $2.3 million, including: CoC - $1.3 million and ESG - $1.1 million.

WISCONSIN - $15.2 million, including: CoC - $12.4 million and ESG - $2.8 million.

WYOMING - $223,765, including: CoC - $64,765 and ESG - $159,000.

AMERICAN SAMOA, GUAM, NORTHERN MARIANAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS - $300,000, all for ESG.

PUERTO RICO - $9.4 million, including: CoC - $4.8 million and ESG - $4.6 million.

THE STORIES OF SIX HOMELESS PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES WERE TRANSFORMED BY CLINTON ADMINISTRATION HOMELESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

Throughout the United States, homeless people have dramatically transformed their lives because of the Clinton Administration's Continuum of Care homeless assistance programs. Many men and women have moved from desperate poverty and life on the streets to jobs and homes of their own with the help of the programs funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Here are six success stories:

BALTIMORE - Christa Spangler's life began falling apart when she was 28. A mother of three daughters who were ages 4, 6 and 8 at the time, she divorced and began drinking heavily. She was diagnosed with mental illness and at 30 lost custody of her daughters. For the next 11 years, Spangler says she spent time in and out of mental hospitals, in and out of alcohol detoxification facilities, and in and out of homelessness. She went through three marriages and three divorces, held many secretarial jobs and went through long stretches of unemployment. In 1994, after spending two months in a mental hospital and a month in a homeless shelter, she turned her life around during the eight months she lived at Marian House, a facility for homeless women that has received funding from HUD. She says she has spent the last four years functioning well, with the help of medication and treatment by a psychiatrist, and has worked as a secretary during the period for a social services agency in Baltimore. Last year, Spangler remarried and purchased a home with her new husband. She celebrated her 45th birthday on Monday of this week and says: "Marian House saved my life. Without it, I would be dead today."

WASHINGTON - As a child, Dorthea was abandoned by her drug-addicted mother, sexually abused by her stepfather and uncle, and beaten by her grandmother. Dropping out of school in the 9th grade, she drank and smoked crack. Dorthea married at age 15. She was a victim of several assaults. When she left the street and arrived at the House of Ruth - a homeless facility funded by HUD - she was dirty and had gone so long without human contact that she could not even carry on a normal conversation. A psychiatrist diagnosed her with depression, psychosis and auditory hallucinations. Dorthea's struggle to gain a stable life was difficult and she relapsed into drug use a few times. Finally, after a year and much hard work, her life began to turn around. Today, Dorthea has her own apartment and a job as a receptionist with a social service agency.

LOS ANGELES - Nancy (not her real first name) was severely injured when her abusive husband poured acid over most her face and upper body. Her husband went to prison and her marriage broke up. With no job, Nancy and her three children soon became homeless. The family was referred to Beyond Shelter in Los Angeles, which is funded by HUD. Beyond Shelter provided the family with emergency food and clothing, helped them find affordable housing and assisted Nancy in obtaining income. In addition, the shelter provided counseling, therapy referral, and connected the disfigured woman to an organization willing to provide her with free plastic surgery this year. Today, Nancy and her children live safely in their own home.

DENVER - Harold was a homeless veteran who lived on the streets for 18 years. The Colorado Department of Human Services used HUD funds to link him to support services such as case management, substance abuse treatment, and group therapy. After two years in these programs, Harold bought a home and reunited with his estranged family. He recently became a grandfather.

NEW ORLEANS - Cindy and her one-year old son spent last Christmas living in an emergency shelter. When Cindy found out about the Unity transitional housing program in New Orleans funded by HUD, she and her son moved there. With housing, child care, and an array of other support services available to her, Cindy was able to secure a job in the health care field with full benefits for her family. She is part of a program to help her become a homeowner.

QUINCY, MA - Two years ago, Bob spent a cold and lonely Christmas living in the "weeds" - the tall marsh reeds - in Quincy, MA. With help of a local shelter funded by HUD called Father Bill's Place, Bob began a new life at the shelter and started receiving treatment for a medical condition. As his health - and his hope - improved, Bob found a home through the HUD-funded Shelter Plus Care program and established contact with his teenage son, who he had not seen in almost five years. Today, Bob works on the Board of Directors of the Quincy Interfaith Sheltering Coalition and devotes three nights a week to volunteering at Father Bill's shelter. This year, Bob will spend Christmas with his son in his own home.