|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 27, 1999
For more information, contact: Barbara Poppe (614) 221-9195
$4.35 M GRANT TO HELP HOMELESS IN COLUMBUS
COLUMBUS, OH – The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a funding award of $4.35 million to assist homeless programs in Columbus and Franklin County.
Through the Emergency Shelter Grants program, Columbus and Franklin County will receive a combined total of $382,000. The Community Shelter Board (CSB), a non-profit organization that coordinates and funds access to homeless services in Columbus and Franklin County in order to reduce the number of persons experiencing a housing crisis, will administer these funds to local emergency shelter programs for operating support.
HUD also announced the award of $3,966,177 to Columbus and Franklin County non-profit organizations. CSB coordinated the 1999 application process and submitted the competitive proposal to HUD. The federal funds, made available through Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance programs, represent the major source of federal assistance to states, local governments and non-profit organizations that meet the housing and support service needs of homeless individuals and families.
"This is an important source of funding that addresses the serious problem of homelessness and the lack of supportive housing in our community" said Barbara Poppe, Executive Director of the Community Shelter Board.
The Continuum of Care grants will provide funding for eight existing projects in the area. Sponsors receiving funding include the Columbus AIDS Task Force, Community Housing Network, Friends of the Homeless, Volunteers of America and the YWCA. (For a complete listing of projects, see the attachment to this press release).
Also, Community Housing Network will develop and implement its new "Recovery Readiness II" program in 2000. As a major component of the Rebuilding Lives initiative, the program will provide permanent housing and supportive services for single men with chronic substance abuse problems in Central Ohio.
The Scioto Peninsula Relocation Task Force developed the Rebuilding Lives plan last year. After studying homelessness in Columbus and Franklin County, the task force discovered 15 percent of single homeless men use approximately 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 supportive housing units will be built throughout Central Ohio over the next five years.
"This funding will help central Ohio remain at the forefront for taking care of our low-income citizens by providing affordable housing," said Columbus Mayor Gregory Lashutka. "The Community Shelter Board was critical in attracting these important federal dollars to our community."
HUD makes the funds available only to those states, local governments 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.
The amount awarded to Columbus and Franklin County is an increase of $800,000 from last year. HUD awarded $42 million to the State of Ohio, making it the fourth ranked state applying for funding, just behind California, New York and Illinois.
###
Home | Who We Are | What's New | Programs | Agency Resources | Results
Publications | Continuum of Care | Links | How to Give | Mel Schottenstein
Community Shelter Board 614-221-9195 info@csb.org