Local homeless aid agencies get $57M

Banner Staff

The federal government awarded nearly $1.4 billion in grants to support local homeless programs last Tuesday, and nearly $57.5 million of that total will go toward helping Massachusetts agencies.

Local agencies compete for most of the grants, which are awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and support more than 5,300 programs nationwide.

The funds will help pay for a range of programs across Massachusetts, from emergency and transitional housing to job training and substance abuse counseling.

The bulk of the grants — a little more than $1.2 billion — were awarded competitively, based on whether local agencies are able to meet the needs of their communities, according to HUD.

An additional $160 million in emergency shelter grants was awarded to state and local governments based on a formula.

Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., said the grants would help “improve the lives of thousands of Massachusetts residents in need,” but called for “a stronger commitment to our nation’s homeless.”

Nan Roman, president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, echoed Kerry’s concern.

“As important as this is, it’s remedial,” Roman said. “It helps people after they have fallen over the cliff. We need to keep them from falling over the cliff.”

Local programs for the homeless use the federal grants to obtain more funding from state and local governments and private donors, said Roman.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness recently used HUD data to estimate that the United States had 744,000 homeless people in 2005. A little more than half were living in shelters, with about 40 percent living on the street.

“Homelessness is a crisis of conscience ... and I’m thrilled that HUD will provide this assistance for necessary services for so many of our residents that struggle with the challenges of the Bush economy,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.