NEWS BRIEFS

HUD report shows 326K experienced homelessness in 2021

In February, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released the first part of its 2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report.

The report found that more than 326,000 people experienced sheltered homelessness in the United States on a single night in 2021 — a decrease of eight percent from 2020, according to a release from HUD.

Sheltered homelessness refers to people experiencing homelessness who were found in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or other temporary settings.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused HUD to waive the requirement for communities to conduct the count of unsheltered homelessness in 2021, which is why the report is only able to provide national estimates on sheltered homelessness. There are some findings on unsheltered homelessness, but only from the communities that conducted unsheltered counts.

The report found that the number of sheltered people in families with children declined considerably between 2020 and 2021, while the number of sheltered individuals remained relatively flat. Between 2020 and 2021, the number of veterans experiencing sheltered homelessness decreased by 10 percent. On a single night in 2021 in January, 15,763 people under the age of 25 experienced sheltered homelessness on their own as “unaccompanied youth.”

The number of sheltered individuals with chronic patterns of homelessness increased by 20 percent between 2020 and 2021.

“The findings of the 2021 AHAR Part 1 report suggest that federal COVID-19 relief had positive impacts on sheltered homelessness,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “Yet we know that homelessness in America remains an urgent crisis. As long as people in this nation continue to lack affordable, secure housing, our work to put Housing First is not done. By continuing to leverage American Rescue Plan resources and our federal House America initiative, the Administration will further accelerate progress toward our shared goal of ending the homelessness crisis.”

“The 10 percent decline in sheltered homelessness among Veterans between January 2020 and January 2021 suggests that the measures put in place to protect our most vulnerable Veterans and keep them in stable housing during the pandemic and beyond have had encouraging impacts,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “VA remains committed to actively working with our federal, local and non-profit partners to sustain existing and implement new evidence-based programs and policies to permanently house or rapidly re-house Veterans who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness because every Veteran has earned and deserves a safe place to call home.”

The pandemic also resulted in considerable changes to the practices of homeless service providers, according to the release.

Nonprofits can now apply for violence reduction funds

Nashville nonprofits can now apply for a $1.5 million Cure Violence pilot program in North Nashville.

Applications are open until April 22, according to a Metro press release, and the funds must support using public health approaches to violence reduction. The release cites things

like employing violence interrupters and outreach workers to help defuse community conflict and to connect people to needed services.

"Community safety is public safety, and community safety takes all of us,” Mayor John Cooper said in the release. “This is another step in our efforts to support the grassroots groups pursuing solutions that work best for Nashville's neighborhoods.”

In the past year, $105,000 in grants have been awarded to 21 local nonprofits.

“Violence interruption programs are a proven, public-health approach to reducing violence,” said Erin Evans, chair of Metro Council’s Health and Public Safety Committee. “I want to thank Mayor Cooper, my colleagues on the Metro Council and on the Community Safety Partnership Fund Advisory Board, the Metro Public Health Department, and our nonprofit partners for their work on this life-saving initiative.”

The release says violence interruption programs work primarily with high-risk youth aged 14 to 30 and include individual interactions, conflict mediation and community mobilization.

Some families to receive retroactive food assistance benefits

Starting in March, eligible children who did not receive assistance through the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer program for the 2020-2021 school year will receive a retroactive benefit payment.

This payment will be sent to children who experienced a change in P-EBT eligibility status during the 2020-2021 school year or who were not accounted for initially. Parents do not have to apply for retroactive P-EBT benefits.

“The COVID-19 pandemic caused much uncertainty and changes to daily routines for families, especially those that rely on school meals,” said Tennessee Department of Human Services Commissioner Clarence H. Carter. “In partnership with TDOE, we’ve taken steps to ensure that all children eligible for P-EBT receive the benefit, despite fluctuations and changes that occurred during the last school year.”