$60M in Federal Funds to Improve Homelessness Outreach

Chicago has received $60 million in new federal funds to strengthen outreach to people living on the street and for 700 units of permanent housing without time limits.

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge made the announcement in Chicago with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, All Chicago, and other members of the Chicago Continuum of Care (CoC), which coordinates the city’s response to homelessness. Chicago’s was the highest grant among $315 million to 46 communities announced on February 2.

The Chicago CoC’s plan will leverage health, behavioral health and supportive services from partner organizations, and housing vouchers administered by the Chicago Housing Authority.

City officials in February estimated over 2,600 Chicagoans staying in homeless shelters every night and another 1,200 on the street, as well as 58,000 people staying with friends or family.

Homelessness worsened during the pandemic, HUD officials said, so the American Rescue Plan (ARP) signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021, delivered some historic investments against it:

• $21.5 billion in emergency rental assistance;

• $10 billion to help homeowners behind on mortgage and utilities;

• $5 billion for emergency housing vouchers;

• $5 billion HOME Investment partnerships to build housing.

In late 2022, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) released “All In,” the strategic plan behind President Biden’s goal to reduce homelessness 25 percent by 2025.

-Suzanne Hanney, from online sources