WASHINGTON, D.C. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced the award of $1.5 billion in Homeless Assistance Grant funding to an unprecedented number of local programs - nearly 6000 - to provide housing, shelter, and supportive services to more than 168,000 individuals and families. "These grants will reach into every corner of the nation, helping individuals and families to move beyond the cycle of homelessness," said HUD Deputy Secretary Roy A. Bernardi. "We know this record funding will literally save lives and we at the federal level are proud to play our part in helping our partners at the local level who are on the front lines of helping those in need."

Among the award highlights:

• 1,217 of the project awards target individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. Total funding to these projects is more than $330 million, a commitment that directly supports the national goal of ending chronic homelessness.
• More than $727 million is being awarded to projects that provide permanent housing solutions for homeless persons.
• 3,068 local projects that serve families with children will receive $729 million.
• 607 programs that primarily serve victims of domestic violence will receive nearly $97 million.
• $32 million is being awarded to 149 projects that primarily target homeless veterans
• 1,768 of the projects are dedicated to providing housing and support services to severely mentally ill clients, totaling $453 million. These persons are at high risk of experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness.
• $351 million will support 1,487 local programs that primarily help homeless individuals with substance abuse problems.

"Today's $1.5 billion announcement continues the increasing commitment by this Administration and the Congress to end the human tragedy of homelessness for those who are the most vulnerable and disabled and veterans who have served our country," said United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano. "Additionally, these resources are focused to relieve and remedy the long misery of homeless families in their movement beyond shelter to housing. I commend HUD staff for their diligent, expedited efforts to move these resources into communities in a year of a record numbers of initiatives securing support."

The $1.5 billion is part of the sixth consecutive year of record resources made available from Washington. Another unprecedented seventh consecutive year of increased investment was proposed by the President in his 2008 budget. "Increased resources focused on housing have correlated with decreased numbers on the streets of our communities," Director Mangano indicated. "The announcement last month of a documented decrease of 20,000 people on our streets represents more than 100,000 cumulative years of homelessness coming to an end. That investment has demonstrated results and offered new hope to our homeless neighbors. Today's announcement from HUD is intended to increase that hope and again decrease the numbers."

Since 2001, HUD has awarded approximately $10 billion in funding to local communities to support the housing and supportive service needs of homeless individuals and families. The President's FY 2008 Budget seeking $1.6 billion represents a 55 percent increase over funding provided in 2001. To view the list of projects awarded funding in today's announcement, click here.

Today marks National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day commemorating the lives of our homeless neighbors across the nation who have died.

Some in programs and shelters and others on the streets of our country. Some served valiantly preserving freedom. Sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles.

All in the course of their lives were part of families, neighborhoods, schools, communities. All were neighbors.

Through the missteps of personal decisions or misguided public policies, these neighbors found themselves homeless.

None planned to become homeless. When they were asked in seventh grade what they wanted to be, they responded policeman, firefighter, doctor, lawyer, President, basketball player, singer. None said they aspired to homelessness.

We have partnered together across this country to ameliorate the long misery of homelessness and bring this national disgrace to an end. In Washington we have prioritized those who are the most disabled and vulnerable, most at risk of dying on our streets. The initiative to end chronic homelessness has been embraced by every level of government and many on the frontlines of response.

Today's announcement of $1.5 billion targeted to homeless people across our country is meant to be invested in ending homelessness, in reducing deaths on our streets. Increased resources invested in decreased homelessness makes sense.

Through the work of those who make more resources available and those who work on the frontlines, both committed to righting the wrong, our nation is a better place to live for all its citizens.

The day when no Memorial Service needs to be planned is the day to which we aspire.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. A new strategic partnership between Los Angeles City and County officials that is moving forward a disciplined approach to identify and prioritize housing and services for the most vulnerable and disabled is offering new hope for a more effective approach for ending the homelessness of those living long term on the streets of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. Beginning January 15, the first of 50 men and women who have been identified as being the most vulnerable will be moved into housing provided through the Skid Row Housing Trust with supportive services to be provided by the county.

City and county officials led by Board of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa have sought a more effective approach to Skid Row, which has been referred to as "ground zero of homelessness in the nation." In October a meeting convened by then Supervisor Chair Yaroslavsky, the City of Los Angeles, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Common Ground, and the Rockefeller Foundation brought together innovators from around the country with Los Angeles city and county leaders to discuss innovative approaches that are achieving results in reducing and ending street homelessness. Of particular interest was the Street to Home initiative pioneered by Common Ground and modeled after the successful "Rough Sleepers" initiative in England that reduced street homelessness by 75%. The Street-to-Home initiative replaces the ad hoc random approach to housing and services with a targeted strategic process to "identify and prioritize the most vulnerable persons living on the street, assess and negotiate housing options for those individuals, then house and retain." This approach has reduced street homelessness in the Times Square area of New York City by 87% over two years.

With support from now County Supervisor Chair Yvonne Burke, a longtime supporter of solutions for homeless people, city and county leaders agreed after the meeting to move forward within 100 days to implement a similar effort, dubbed "Project 50". On December 7, 23 outreach workers from the county, the VA, and a variety of agencies, with training provided under the leadership of Common Ground Street to Home Initiative Director Becky Kanis and Common Ground Los Angeles Field Director Beth Sandor, combed the streets of Skid Row from 4 am to 7 am for two weeks to identify those who were actually living and sleeping on the streets and used a risk factor analysis to assess their vulnerability. The intensive outreach effort produced a registry of those living and sleeping long term on the streets which number 471 individuals and prioritized them by vulnerability and needs. Common Ground President and Founder Roseanne Haggerty commended city and county leaders for "achieving consensus on an approach based on vulnerability and moving quickly to do a disciplined job of identifying and detailing the needs of those living on the streets of Skid Row." She noted that the timing of the outreach in early morning hours helped ensure that those identified were actually living and sleeping on the streets.

"Until now we've been intimidated by the sheer scale of the problem into doing very little," said Supervisor Yaroslavsky who had traveled to New York City to see first hand the Street to Home Initiative and also visited Denver's highly successful Road Home effort. He noted that the project is expected to save Los Angeles taxpayers millions of dollars by reducing the cycling in and out of shelters, jails, emergency rooms and hospitals. "To house someone in jail is more expensive than the Four Seasons Hotel."

" More resources from Washington, better strategies in the field, and decreased numbers on the street - these are the ingredients that are savings lives, said United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano. "That's the focus of our investments in the lives of our country's most vulnerable citizens."

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