New Biden-Harris Administration programs and efforts are increasing the number of people who exit homelessness into permanent housing in the last two years
WASHINGTON – RealEstateRama – From January 2023 through December 2023, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is projected to serve 330,000 people through grants provided to homeless service organizations (Continuums of Care), an increase of 15% over grants funded in 2022. In addition, HUD has worked with Public Housing Authorities across the country to help more than 94,000 households exit or avoid homelessness in 2023, including more than 8,200 households through public housing, more than 56,900 through incremental Housing Choice Vouchers, and more than 28,200 households experiencing or at-risk of homelessness through the Emergency Housing Voucher program. This latest data builds on bold and innovative actions by the Biden-Harris administration to address the homelessness challenge head on.
“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.”
This progress in 2023 builds on strides HUD has made to permanently house people experiencing homelessness. The number of people who exited homelessness into permanent housing increased from 278,209 people in federal fiscal year 2021 to 299,580 people in federal fiscal year 2022—an 8% year over year increase, according to homelessness system performance measures reported to HUD from Continuums of Care.
From Day One of the Administration, the President has made tackling homelessness a top priority. His American Rescue Plan made the largest single-year investment in ending homelessness in U.S. history. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has taken up the charge to help communities assist more people experiencing homelessness to obtain a stable home across America. A key part of HUD’s efforts has been to enlist and support the more than 3,000 public housing agencies (PHAs) who administer public housing and housing vouchers to play greater roles in assisting people experiencing homelessness. Data collected by HUD shows that these efforts are working. In November 2023, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it has permanently housed 38,847 homeless Veterans through October of 2023 — surpassing the calendar year goal to house 38,000 Veterans two months early.
HUD required the approximately 600 administering PHAs to enter into formal partnerships with local Continuums of Care (CoCs) and victim services providers to target vouchers and provided technical assistance to support these partnerships. In addition, HUD provided PHAs and their partners with additional administrative and services fees along with greater regulatory flexibilities such as allowing people to be issued vouchers and obtain housing while paperwork and documentation were being provided. During this time period, PHAs administering Emergency Housing Vouchers placed nearly 37,000 households into homes, with the majority of household served being people experiencing homelessness.
“Emergency Housing Vouchers have been a powerful force for addressing homelessness in communities across the country,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Richard J. Monocchio. “The partnerships between housing authorities and Continuums of Care, the extra support for residents’ housing searches, landlords working with tenants to lease up quickly, and other flexibilities have demonstrated the power of creating programs that can meet urgent, local needs at a time of crisis.”
During 2023, HUD provided additional resources, guidance, and support to PHAs to encourage them to support efforts to address homelessness. In April 2023, HUD also coordinated an allocation of approximately 3,300 Stability Vouchers to PHAs who are formally partnering with CoCs who received $486 million in grants to address unsheltered and/or rural homelessness. In June 2023, HUD issued updated guidance to PHAs on how they can further assist in efforts to address homelessness through their public housing and incremental Housing Choice Vouchers, both of which can serve, but are not exclusively targeted to people experiencing homelessness. In November 2023, HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing issued a letter further highlighting all of these resources and flexibilities available to PHAs to help them address homelessness, including the opportunity to seek waivers and alternative requirements.
Complete data on people exiting homelessness into permanent housing through all modes will be available in early 2024.
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