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December 27, 2000                                                                   Barbara Poppe,     

                                                                                                      614/221-9195

Federal Funding Awards for Homeless Programs Announced

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a funding award of nearly seven million dollars ($6,912,225) to assist homeless programs in Columbus and Franklin County.

HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo announced the award of $6,533,225 to Columbus and Franklin County non-profit organizations through the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance program. The Community Shelter Board (CSB) coordinated the 2000 application process and submitted the competitive proposal to HUD. Additionally, HUD announced grants of $303,000 and $76,000 for Emergency Shelter Grants to the City of Columbus and Franklin County, respectively. These funds represent the major source of federal assistance to meet the housing and support service needs of homeless individuals and families.

The amount awarded to Columbus and Franklin County is an increase of $2.6 million from last year and was the second largest award in Ohio. HUD awarded $49.2 million to the State of Ohio, making it the sixth ranked state applying for funding, just behind California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Florida.

"This funding helps our community break the cycle of homelessness by providing housing solutions", said Barbara Poppe, Executive Director of the Community Shelter Board. She noted that this is the largest Continuum of Care award in the five years that CSB has coordinated the application.

The Continuum of Care grants will provide funding for sixteen (16) projects representing 575 units of supportive and transitional housing. Sponsors receiving funding include National Church Residences (NCR), Community Housing Network, Friends of the Homeless and the YWCA of Columbus. 

National Church Residences, a first time recipient of Continuum of Care funds, intends to develop 50 new units of supportive housing for chronically homeless men as part of the Rebuilding Lives plan. The housing will be part of a 100-unit project that serves long-term homeless and low-income working residents and was the highest priority project for the local community.

Supportive housing is a major component of the Rebuilding Lives Plan. The plan grew out of a task force who studied homelessness in Columbus and Franklin County. The Task Force discovered 15 percent of the single homeless men use more than 50 percent of all shelter services for men. The plan to end the cycle of homelessness includes the creation of permanent affordable housing combined with counseling, job training and other services. As part of this plan, 800 units of supportive housing will be built throughout central Ohio over the next five years.

The YWCA of Columbus received renewal funding for its successful transitional housing program for homeless women with mental illness, as well as a new grant to create permanent supportive housing for homeless women in partnership with the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority.

"The YWCA is delighted with this award because it will increase the supply of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless women who are experiencing mental health issues," according to Beth Morrow Lonn, Vice President of Housing at the YWCA of Columbus, "There is a critical shortage of affordable housing and this helps to fill the gap."

HUD makes the funds available only to those states, local government and organizations that apply for the funding. The HUD application involves an extensive planning and submission process, with no guarantee that funding will be awarded.

City Council Member Charleta B. Tavares, chair of the Health, Housing & Human Services Committee, complimented the Community Shelter Board and the local steering committee for coordinating a high quality proposal. "I am impressed by the results of the committee’s work which resulted in funding for high quality projects to serve homeless persons in our community."

The Community Shelter Board, established in 1986, is a non-profit intermediary organization that coordinates community based efforts, fosters collaboration, and funds services to assist families and individuals in Central Ohio to resolve their housing crisis. The Community Shelter Board allocates $6.0 million annually to support programs at 15 agencies. Last year, these programs served more than 11,000 individuals. The Community Shelter Board is funded by the City of Columbus, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, the United Way of Franklin County, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Sate of Ohio, and other public and private donors.

 

 

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