$5B in Relief Money to Help Fight Homelessness

By Kerry Smith

In Fla., 40 agencies will get “Emergency Housing Voucher” money to help individuals and families experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that $5 billion in emergency funding will help Americans who are homeless or “at risk of homelessness.” The money is funded through the American Rescue Plan, which Congress passed earlier this year.

In Florida, 40 agencies across the state will receive a total of 3,168 housing vouchers. HUD announced the allocation on a Zoom call Monday. A complete list of agencies can be downloaded (Excel spreadsheet) and HUD offers additional information on its website.

HUD offers the supplemental funding through the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program. Through EHV, HUD is providing 70,000 housing choice vouchers nationwide to local public housing authorities (PHAs) to help Americans find and remain in housing.

“While most of us spent more time in our homes than we ever have, more than half a million Americans had to spend the last year either in crowded shelters or sleeping outside,” says HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “With HUD’s swift allocation of this $5 billion in American Rescue Plan funding, we are providing communities the resources to give homes to the people who have had to endure the COVID-19 pandemic without one.”

“The best way to address homelessness is to prevent it. And the American Rescue Plan Act emergency vouchers that the Biden Administration is allocating today will provide a major boost to our efforts,” says Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who was included on Fudge’s Zoom call.

The $5 billion in EHV-ARP funding gives communities resources to help eligible households find and remain in housing. HUD estimates that these EHVs, alongside resources provided by the CARES Act, could help house 130,000 households.

The $5 billion in EHV-ARP funding is the second of two homelessness-related funding opportunities from the American Rescue Plan that HUD has released. In April, HUD announced the allocation of $5 billion in ARP funds to increase affordable housing to address homelessness.

© 2021 Florida Realtors®

Reprinted with permission.

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