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U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson has announced more than $118 million in grants to support local homeless assistance programs across the country. This round of HUD’s Continuum of Care grants will provide critically needed support to approximately 630 local programs on the frontlines, serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Earlier this year, HUD announced $2.2 billion in grants to support thousands of local programs working towards addressing the needs of homeless individuals and families.
“The path to self-sufficiency begins with a safe place to sleep and ultimately, an affordable place to call home,” said Secretary Carson. “These grants will help service providers across the Nation continue their work of reducing homelessness in their communities and help our most vulnerable neighbors. The Trump Administration is committed to lifting up all Americans and this announcement is yet another example of our unwavering commitment to empower this great nation through investing in our people.”
HUD Continuum of Care grant funding supports a broad array of interventions designed to assist individuals and families experiencing homelessness, particularly those living in places not meant for habitation, located in sheltering programs, or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. Each year, HUD serves more than a million people through emergency shelter, transitional, and permanent housing programs.
In 2019, most of the country experienced a combined decrease in homelessness, however significant increases in unsheltered and chronic homelessness on the West Coast, particularly in California and Oregon, offset those nationwide decreases, causing an overall increase in homelessness of 2.7 percent. HUD’s 2019 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress found that 567,715 persons experienced homelessness on a single night in 2019, an increase of 2.7 percent since 2018, but a nearly 11 percent decline since 2010. The number of families with children experiencing homelessness declined 5 percent from 2018 and more than 32 percent since 2010. Local communities also reported a continuing trend in reducing veteran homelessness across the country—the number of veterans experiencing homelessness fell 2.1 percent since January 2018 and by 50 percent since 2010.
