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HUD AWARDS $3.4 Million to Triangle  Area Agencies to Fight Homelessness

Morrisville—The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently awarded more than $3.4 million to agencies across the Triangle offering programs to end homelessness. Durham, Orange and Wake County each received federal funds both renewal and new projects targeting chronic or long-term homelessness.

                                               

County	Award	Recipient Agencies
Durham	$777,316	Urban Ministries of Durham, Housing for New Hope, and Genesis Home
Orange	$278,923	OPC(Orange, Person and Chatham) Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Authority, UNC Horizons, Inter-Faith Council for Social Services, and the Chrysalis Foundation for Mental Health
Wake	$2,366,654	Wake County Human Services, CASA(Community Alternatives For Supportive Abodes), and Passage Home.

           

“These awards are simply the first investment of many that are needed to make ending homelessness a reality,” said Stan Holt, homelessness specialist for Triangle United Way. “All levels of government and the private sector need to follow the HUD’s lead and invest in strategies that end homelessness.”                    

 

Executive Director of Genesis Home Ryan Fehrman said, “This award is vital to the ongoing operations of Genesis Home and ensures that homeless families are prepared to move into permanent housing after they leave our program.”

 

Vanessa Neustrom, a community planner with OPC Mental Health says, “Our community is invested in increasing the availability of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals, as outlined in Orange County's Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. These funds allow us to continue providing permanent supportive housing to homeless individuals with disabilities, with a slight increase to existing programs."

 

As part of these HUD awards, all three counties received support for new projects that target the chronic homeless. Chronically homeless individuals are those who have been homeless for at least one full year or four times within a three year period. They also must have a disabling condition, such as a mental illness or substance abuse history. Throughout the country communities have identified the chronically homeless as both the most vulnerable population and the most expensive to serve when they are not housed.  Strategies designed to move these individuals into housing as soon as possible are being implemented in the region.  

 

According to David Harris, the director of supported housing and homeless services with Wake County Human Services, the new funds will allow Wake County's Housing First program to serve an additional 14 people, for a total of 32 people at a time.  “Many of these individuals have lived on the streets for years and been unresponsive to our outreach efforts.  It's great to see them moving into their new homes and taking charge of their lives,” he said.

Please contact Stan Holt at sholt@unitedwaytriangle.org or 463-5023 for information on how you can get involved in ending homelessness in your community.

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