FUDGE, WATERS, POLIS, GARCETTI, DURKAN, BREED DISCUSS AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE ALLOCATIONS
Secretary Fudge: "We cannot stand by when a single person in this country - let alone more than half a million people - is without a safe, stable place to call home."

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia L. Fudge held a Zoom call to discuss the nearly $5 billion in American Rescue Plan funds allocated by HUD to help communities across the country create affordable housing and services for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Secretary Fudge was joined on the call by House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, and San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

The supplemental funding, known as HOME-ARP, was provided by the American Rescue Plan, which was enacted into law on March 11, 2021, and is allocated through the HOME Investment Partnerships Program to 651 grantees, including states, insular areas, and local governments. Click here for a full list.

"We cannot stand by when a single person in this country - let alone more than half a million people - is without a safe, stable place to call home. That is why the Biden-Harris Administration has acted swiftly and aggressively to protect and support people experiencing or at-risk of experiencing homelessness," said Secretary Fudge. "While this $5 billion in homelessness assistance in the American Rescue Plan will deliver near-term relief to people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness during the pandemic, the President's once-in-a-generation American Jobs Plan would build on this relief with additional robust funding for the affordable housing needing to bring the United States closer to ending homelessness and housing instability."

"I applaud Secretary Fudge, President Biden, and the Biden Administration for the outstanding work they have done on the American Rescue Plan to deliver essential relief to individuals, families and communities during the pandemic crisis," said Chairwoman Waters. "One of my key priorities as Chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee is to address the shameful homelessness crisis, which has been worsened by the pandemic. I am pleased that American Rescue Plan Act provides $5 billion in funding for homeless assistance through the HOME program, and that President Biden has made investment in housing infrastructure and affordable housing a key component of his American Jobs Plan. I am looking forward to working with the Biden Administration both to advance legislation to implement the American Jobs Plan and on my Ending Homelessness Act this Congress."

"So many people have endured a tremendous amount of hardship this year, some people even lost their homes. As Colorado builds back stronger from this pandemic, it's critical that everyone in our state and nation has the opportunity to call a place home," said Governor Polis. "These funds from the American Rescue Plan will offer direct, immediate results and pave the way for long-term solutions to end homelessness. I thank the Biden-Harris administration and Secretary Fudge for their efforts to deliver relief when Coloradans, and all of America, need it most."

"The $5 billion in HOME funding from the American Rescue Plan has opened the door to a tectonic shift in our ability to bring our unhoused neighbors indoors," said Mayor Garcetti. "Thanks to the leadership of Secretary Fudge and the Biden-Harris administration, our City will add nearly $100 million to our local efforts to bring more shelters, permanent housing, and critical services online -- and enable us to dedicate a record-setting $1 billion toward the fight to confront and end homelessness in Los Angeles."

"With the American Rescue Plan, President Biden is leading with partnership to support cities who have served as the only safety net for our most vulnerable communities over the past four years. Over the several meetings with HUD, Secretary Fudge's commitment to Seattle and addressing homelessness, especially chronic homelessness, is clear and unwavering. Her leadership will help address our communities' most immediate needs over the coming months," said Mayor Durkan. "In Seattle, recently we have taken some important steps, capitalizing on the downturn in the real estate market to add more affordable housing for our neighbors experiencing homelessness. For our longer-term recovery, we have the opportunity with the American Rescue Plan and HOME funds to scale up innovative investments to shelter and house even more, more quickly than ever before."

"To tackle the significant and complex challenges facing our city around housing and homelessness, we need real and substantial federal leadership. That's what we are getting from President Biden and the American Rescue Plan, and from the HOME program, which is providing badly needed resources to help us support our most vulnerable residents," said Mayor Breed. "While it's critical we invest in long-term solutions like permanent housing, we also need to find creative interim housing solutions to keep people safe. I appreciate Secretary Fudge's understanding of these challenges and the willingness of HUD to provide the flexibility and resources we need to respond to the crisis of unsheltered homelessness."

The $4.925 billion in HOME-ARP funding gives states the flexibility to best meet the needs of people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness, including through development of affordable and supportive housing, tenant-based rental assistance, supportive services, and acquisition and development of non-congregate shelter units. Funds must be spent by 2030.

The nearly $5 billion in HOME-ARP funding is the first of two homelessness-related funding opportunities from the American Rescue Plan that HUD will release. In the coming weeks, HUD will announce the allocation of funding for emergency vouchers for people experiencing and at-risk of homelessness.

The American Jobs Plan (www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan), introduced on March 31, 2021, calls for a more than $200 billion investment to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis.

In March, HUD released its 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report Part 1 to Congress (www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahar/2020-ahar-part-1-pit-estimates-of-homelessness-in-the-us.html), which found that more than 580,000 people experienced homelessness in the United States on a single night in 2020.

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