The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is providing $45 million in assistance to public-housing authorities and collaborating organizations to fight homelessness in their communities.
HUD announced June 5 that it is sending 3,379 Stability Vouchers to 135 public-housing authorities (PHAs) and partnering Continuum of Care (CoC) communities across the country. The vouchers are part of $486 million in grants awarded to 62 CoC communities in April to assist unsheltered people and combat rural homelessness, the announcement reports
"Together, these grants and vouchers comprise a first-of-its-kind package of federal resources to help communities make continued progress in reducing homelessness," HUD states in the news release.
Under the Stability Voucher program, Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) assistance is made available to assist individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and those leaving or wanting to leave a situation involving violence, assault, stalking and/or human trafficking, the release reports. Veterans and their families that meet these criteria are also eligible for assistance, according to the release.
The Stability Vouchers program is a component of President Joe Biden's goal of reducing homelessness by 25% by 2025, the release reports, which was outlined in "All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness," published by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) in late December.
HUD Sec. Marcia Fudge and USICH launched House America in 2022, which partnered the two agencies with 105 communities and their leaders to move more than 100,000 households out of homelessness and into permanent housing, the release reports, and to construct more than 40,000 affordable-housing units.
“HUD is committed to making sure that people in unsheltered settings and in rural housing have access to housing and to help them deal with the affordability crisis," Fudge said in the release. "These vouchers will enable communities to partner with health and housing agencies to coordinate efforts to reduce homelessness and help thousands of people move off the streets into permanent housing.”
