Congress should invest in proven solutions to homelessness by providing funds through the annual appropriations process.
Homelessness affects more than half a million Americans on any given night. HUD’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program is at the core of federal efforts to end this crisis.
Consider the results: Since 2007, homelessness has decreased by 15 percent. Meanwhile, communities and even states across the country have announced that they have ended veteran and chronic homelessness. That progress is only possible through bipartisan Congressional investments in this program.
Each year, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awards Homeless Assistance Grants to communities that administer housing and services at the local level. Specifically, the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program and the Continuum of Care (CoC) program fund the cornerstones of each community’s homeless system. The ESG grant funds street outreach, homelessness prevention and diversion, emergency shelter, and rapid re-housing. The CoC program funds permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, transitional housing, coordinated entry, and pilots like the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program.
Because HUD prioritizes evidence-based programs and practices as part of the grants program, homeless assistance systems across the country have improved their ability to quickly respond to housing crises, get people back into housing, and connect them with community-based services.