HUD Commits $5 Billion to End Homelessness

U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia L. Fudge has allocated $5 billion in American Rescue Plan funds for emergency housing vouchers for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.

The funding is allocated through the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program. Through EHV, HUD is providing 70,000 housing choice vouchers to local public housing authorities (PHAs) across the country to help Americans find and remain in housing.

“While most of us spent more time in our homes than we ever have, more than half a million Americans had to spend the last year either in crowded shelters or sleeping outside,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “With HUD’s swift allocation of this $5 billion in American Rescue Plan funding, we are providing communities the resources to give homes to the people who have had to endure the COVID-19 pandemic without one. Congress now needs to pass the President’s American Jobs Plan. This once-in-a-generation investment would bring the United States closer to ending homelessness and housing instability.”

The $5 billion in EHV-ARP funding gives communities resources to help eligible households find and remain in their homes. HUD estimates that these EHVs, alongside resources provided by the CARES Act, could help house 130,000 households. The $5 billion in EHV-ARP funding is the second of two homelessness-related funding opportunities from the American Rescue Plan that HUD released. In April, HUD announced the allocation of $5 billion in ARP funds to increase affordable housing to address homelessness.

“The best way to address homelessness is to prevent it,” said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. “And the American Rescue Plan Act emergency vouchers that the Biden Administration is allocating today will provide a major boost to our efforts. Through this program alone, more than 1,100 families in our area will receive assistance and will be able to stay in their homes. We are deeply appreciative of the Biden Administration for this much-needed assistance that will make our city stronger.”

Rep. David Price said, “Stable housing is a basic human need, and the foundation upon which people build their lives. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, 1,296 Emergency Housing Vouchers are available for unhoused individuals and those facing housing instability in the state of North Carolina. As Chairman of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, I am proud to work alongside HUD to carry out the vital mission of ending homelessness through a Housing First approach to help build our country back better.”

HUD recently also allocated $20,229,156 to fair housing organizations to fight housing discrimination. The funds are marked for a number of initiatives, including fair housing testing, education and outreach, and capacity building, and are being provided through HUD’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP).