PROVIDENCE, RI - In an effort to help end homelessness, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today announced that Rhode Island homeless housing and service programs will receive $5,262,197 in federal Continuum of Care (CoC) funding.  This federal funding will help provide safe, affordable housing and supportive services for homeless Rhode Islanders.

“This federal funding is a smart investment in fighting homelessness in Rhode Island.  Whether it’s helping a homeless veteran who is struggling with PTSD or a family that is on the brink of becoming homeless, these grants provide critical assistance to those in need.  We are committed to preventing and ending homelessness throughout the state, and these federal funds are vital to keeping that commitment,” said Senator Reed, who currently serves as the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD), and helped include $2.14 billion for homelessness funding in the FY 2015 omnibus appropriations bill. 

The federal grants will be administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and coordinated at the state level by Rhode Island Housing.  These funds offer a variety of housing and services including transitional and permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, street outreach, client assessment, and other services.  According to HUD, this funding is projected to serve more than 800 homeless individuals in Rhode Island, including a new project, Coming Home Permanent Supportive Housing, which is a 10-unit project that will exclusively serve chronically homeless veterans.

The HUD grants will help fund over 40 homeless programs throughout Rhode Island.  A full list of the programs receiving funding is available online on the HUD website.

According to the latest statewide count, conducted in November of 2014, Rhode Island’s homeless population currently numbers about 4,440 people.

Senator Reed has been a strong supporter of housing assistance and homelessness prevention initiatives.  Reed is the author of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, which President Obama signed into law in May of 2009.  In addition to boosting targeted homelessness assistance and prevention grant programs going forward, Reed’s legislation mandated that the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness produce a “national strategic plan” to end homelessness, which became the White House’s new strategy called “Opening Doors.”

Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness provides the country with a roadmap to end veterans’ and chronic homelessness, as well as to end homelessness among children, family, and youth.

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