The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has reportedly assisted approximately 330,000 individuals in avoiding homelessness this year. This represents a 15 percent increase in grants from the previous year, which were allocated to homeless service organizations.
According to a recent HUD press release, the department collaborated with Public Housing Authorities across the country to help 94,000 households avoid homelessness this year. This effort included over 8,200 homes through public housing, 28,200 households on the brink of homelessness via the Emergency Housing Voucher program, and more than 56,900 homes through incremental Housing Choice Vouchers.
"President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that homelessness is solvable and should not exist in the United States. HUD and our community partners have acted aggressively to end homelessness by working with communities to get people into housing and provide the resources necessary to help prevent people from ever becoming homeless," said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. "We believe one person experiencing homelessness is too many. That is why HUD and all of our partners across the Administration are doing all we can to address homelessness with resolve and care."
The press release also indicates that HUD continues to make annual progress in assisting individuals experiencing homelessness transition into permanent housing. In fiscal year 2021, HUD aided 278,209 individuals; this figure rose by eight percent to 299,580 in fiscal year 2022, according to system performance measures reported by Continuums of Care - a program designed to promote community-wide commitment towards ending homelessness.
A key element of HUD's strategy to combat homelessness involves collaborating with over 3,000 public housing agencies (PHAs). These partnerships facilitate the process of finding homes for people living on the streets. One organization that has benefited from HUD's efforts is the Department of Veterans Affairs which managed to assist 38,847 veterans find homes this year.
