NAHMA HUD Update: HUD Announces Start of House America to Address Homelessness CrisisSeptember 22, 2021 Dear NAHMA Members, Secretary Marcia Fudge recently announced the launch of House America, a national partnership in which HUD and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homeless (USICH), invite state, tribal and local leaders to partner with HUD to use American Rescue Plan (ARP) and other resources, to re-house and create new housing for families experiencing homelessness. By utilizing funding through the American Rescue Plan, including 70,000 emergency housing vouchers and $5 billion in HOME Investment Partnership grants, resources through the CARES Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and other state, tribal, and local resources, House America will assist state and local leaders in their efforts to re-house people experiencing homelessness and create additional dedicated housing units to address homelessness. For more information, please see the announcement below.
Biden-Harris Administration Launches House America Initiative to Address Homelessness Crisis
“The pandemic has shown us that we, as a nation, are only as strong as the most vulnerable among us,” said Secretary Fudge. “Addressing homelessness is not only about helping the individuals and families who face the greatest housing challenges, but also about the well-being and economic security of our communities and our whole nation. It’s going to take government working at all levels to address homelessness and to guarantee housing as a right for every American. The Biden-Harris Administration looks forward to working alongside state and local partners on solutions that help to eradicate homelessness. By leveraging American Rescue Plan resources and other federal funds through a Housing First approach, we can ensure more people have a safe, stable place to call home.” House America is the federal government’s direct response to the crisis of homelessness, which was rising even before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, HUD released its 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report Part 1 to Congress, which found that more than 580,000 people experienced homelessness in the United States on a single night in January 2020, prior to the pandemic. COVID-19 has created greater urgency to address homelessness, given the heightened risks faced by people experiencing homelessness. At the same time, COVID-19 has slowed re-housing activities due to capacity issues and impacts on rental market vacancies. Through the American Rescue Plan, communities now have historic housing resources - 70,000 emergency housing vouchers, $5 billion in HOME grants, and significant investments to preserve and protect housing on tribal lands - to help more Americans obtain the safety of a stable home. The American Rescue Plan also provides $350 billion in State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds through the Department of the Treasury to support the many needs communities face, including homelessness and housing instability, as they respond to the pandemic and its negative economic impacts. Communities also have resources remaining through the CARES Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and state and local resources to re-house people experiencing homelessness and create additional dedicated housing units to address homelessness. House America provides communities with the focus, resolve, and technical know-how needed to deploy these resources to maximize impact. House America calls on state, tribal, and local leaders to partner with HUD to use American Rescue Plan resources, alongside other federal, tribal, state, and local resources to set and achieve ambitious goals to re-house households experiencing homelessness through a Housing First approach, and to add new units of affordable housing that address homelessness into the development pipeline by December 31, 2022. Within those national goals, communities will set and achieve local re-housing and unit creation goals. Secretary Fudge launched House America during a virtual event, which included panel discussions on re-housing and unit creation. Secretary Fudge was joined at the virtual launch by:
To learn more about House America, to join the initiative, or for a list of House America participants, visit: www.hud.gov/house_america. ### |