CUOMO ANNOUNCES $12.2 MILLION IN ASSISTANCE TO HELP HOMELESS PEOPLE IN BOSTON

BOSTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced $12.2 million in grants to provide housing and needed services that will help people in Boston move from homelessness to self-sufficiency.

Cuomo made the announcement at a news conference in Boston with Senator John Kerry, Congressman Michael Capuano and Mayor Thomas Menino at The Pine Tree Inn, a homeless service provider.

"These funds will give homeless people in Boston the opportunity to turn their lives around," Cuomo said. "We will help people overcome the problems that made them homeless, and help them move on to jobs and to permanent housing."

Senator Kennedy said: " I commend Secretary Cuomo and Mayor Menino for their leadership on this critical issue. The Boston Continuum of Care provides a broad range of vital services to homeless persons. It also links a variety of providers to deliver the full range of services that needy families deserve. This funding is a significant step in the right direction, and an important part of the larger strategy by our city to meet the needs of the homeless more effectively."

Senator Kerry said: "As winter descends upon Boston, it is critical that the homeless are given shelter from the elements and afforded vital services. Through this funding and HUD's Continuum of Care program, many families and individuals in Boston will make the transition from homelessness to independent living."

Congressman Capuano said: " Even though we are experiencing unprecedented economic growth, many people who can not afford a place to live are being forced out on the streets. This vital funding will help provide housing and support services to the most vulnerable citizens. I will continue to work with Secretary Cuomo, Senator Kerry and Mayor Menino to secure more funding for these programs in the future so that our homeless men, women and families have a warm ,safe place to sleep at night."

Mayor Menino said: "I am grateful that Boston will receive funding from the McKinney Homeless Assistance Program. The resources provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development will help us reach out goal of serving every homeless man, woman and child in Boston. This funding will help Boston's current efforts, which include providing $4.5 million from our operating budget for homeless services as well as expanding street outreach, adding shelter beds and making more financial assistance available to people securing rental units."

The 42 grants totaling $12.2 million will be used for long-term programs to help individuals and families permanently end their homeless status, as part of HUD's Continuum of Care approach to homelessness.

In addition to providing housing, the HUD's Continuum of Care initiative for homeless people funds a broad range of job training, child care, mental health services, and substance abuse treatment that offer long-term solutions to homelessness.

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 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.

This year, the Continuum of Care was one of just ten winners, out of 1,600 competitors, of the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award that is given by the Ford Foundation and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The awards are designed to recognize "cutting edge" government programs that effectively solve problems and that other governments can replicate.

Cuomo released a report Dec. 8 that showed programs by HUD and others to help homeless people are working.

The report said that when homeless people get housing assistance and needed services, 76% of those living in families and 60% of those living alone end their homeless status and move to an improved living situation after completion of the assistance program.

The landmark study said most people who become homeless have suffered severe hardships - including physical and sexual abuse, childhood trauma, poverty, a poor education, disability and disease - but are successful in escaping homelessness when they get help from federal and other programs.

The report is titled The Forgotten Americans - Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve. It is filled with revealing statistics that tell the story of people around the nation who have fallen through the social safety net into homelessness.

The report said the top priority of homeless people it surveyed was to get a job - the first step to self-sufficiency. It said 44% of homeless people surveyed worked at least part-time during the past month.

HUD HOMELESS ASSISTANCE GRANTS TO GROUPS IN BOSTON

Family Services of Greater Boston	$250,000
Community Work Services, Inc.	$198,435
Project Hope	$464,287
Interseminarian-Project Place	$ 94,622
Pine Street Inn	$325,034
Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, Inc.	$354,258
HomeStart	$219,230
Casa Nueva Vida, Inc.	$ 36,996
Boston Medical Center	$226,769
Latino Health Institute	$138,355
Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Inc.	$217,847
Justice Resource Institute	$108,150
Casa Myrna Vazquez, Inc.	$ 47,008
Casa Myrna Vazquez, Inc.	$318,620
New England Hospital d/b/a Dimock Community Health Center	$221,914
Casa Myrna Vazquez, Inc.	$262,921
Brookview House, Inc.	$346,080
St. Francis House	$117,436
Bay Cove Human Services	$390,379
Dennis McLaughlin House	$ 74,774
Boston Public Schools	$154,673
City of Boston	$712,800
City of Boston	$1,943,820
City of Boston	$913,980
Community Work Services, Inc.	$198,435
Project Hope	$464,287
Interseminarian-Project Place	$ 94,565
Pine Street Inn, Inc.	$325,034
Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, Inc.	$354,258
HomeStart	$219,230
Casa Nueva Vida, Inc.	$ 36,996
Boston Medical Center, Public Health Commission	$226,769
Latino Health Institute	$138,354
Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Inc.	$217,845
Justice Resource Institute	$108,150
Casa Myrna Vazquez, Inc.	$ 47,007
Casa Myrna Vazquez, Inc.	$318,620
New England Hospital d/b/a Dimock Community Health Center	$221,913
Casa Myrna Vazquez, Inc.	$262,921
Brookview House, Inc.	$346,080
St. Francis House	$117,436
Bay Cove Human Services	$390,378

Content Archived: January 20, 2009