The annual HUD grants to the Dayton-Kettering-Montgomery County Continuum of Care (CoC) are crucial funding sources for local projects designed to move people from homelessness to housing, said Kathleen Shanahan, Montgomery County’s Housing and Homeless Solutions Program Coordinator.
HUD increased the amount awarded to local CoC recipients this year by about $2 million.
Last year during its annual point-in-time count, Montgomery County saw its highest recorded number of unsheltered people — 771 — since it launched its homeless solutions plan in 2006.
Last month, volunteers again performed the mandated point-in-time count for Dayton and Montgomery County, but data is not yet available.
Eastway’s rehousing project, called “Bridges,” will be targeted primarily to single adults, Shanahan said. This population makes up the bulk of what Montgomery County sees in its unsheltered population.
“This is really a way for us to provide additional resources to that group,” she said.
Montgomery County received a $206,501 expansion grant in this round of funding, which will go to coordinated entry efforts for organizations that serve as contact points for people who are leaving abuse.
“No matter if someone has reached out to (YWCA) directly or they were in contact with the Artemis Center, we have a better communication strategy across and we have ways for them to get connected to the housing and services that they need,” Shanahan said.
Roughly $12 million of the funding will also go to the renewal of 21 ongoing projects geared toward permanent supportive housing. These recipients include Homefull, Eastway, PLACES, Daybreak, Mercy Manor Inc., Miami Valley Housing Opportunities, St. Vincent de Paul Social Services Inc. and the YWCA.
“This is what is keeping people housed and providing opportunities for other people to exit the homeless system and enter into that level of permanent housing,” Shanahan said.
Across the country, about $3.16 billion is going into more than 7,000 programs.
“At HUD, we have served or permanently housed 1.2 million people experiencing homelessness in the last three years alone,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “The historic awards we are announcing will help expand community capacity to assist more people obtain the safety and stability of a home, along with the supports they need to achieve their life goals.”
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