HUD Says 'House America' Shelters 100K Families
American Rescue Plan money allowed HUD to distribute more than 20K vouchers, over $1.5 billion directly and over $65B to state and local officials.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says that its “House America” plan has helped 100,000 homeless families get a roof over their heads.
“Through House America, I’m proud to see that communities have stepped up to get people off the streets and into homes,” says HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “The Biden-Harris Administration is deploying a Housing First approach, using American Rescue Plan funding and other resources to help individuals find a place to call home. We will continue to work to house America until we end homelessness as we know it.”
A Housing First approach is somewhat new. In the past, aid agencies would try to help homeless individuals first and then find them a house. Under Housing First, they found that it was usually less expensive to find homeless families a house first and then try to help with the underlying causes of their homelessness.
Launched in September 2021 in partnership with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), House America organized leaders from 105 communities in 31 states and territories and the District of Columbia to join, and provided technical assistance to help them reach their goals.
Specifically, House America’s 105 communities received a funding boost to expand permanent housing opportunities – including more than 20,000 Emergency Housing Vouchers and over $1.5 billion HOME-ARP (funds from the American Rescue Plan) from HUD, as well as over $65 billion in State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
In addition to addressing homelessness overall, ending veteran homelessness is a top priority of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In late December, USICH released All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, which set forth President Joe Biden’s goal to reduce all homelessness by 25% by 2025. As a part of that effort, the VA announced that it permanently housed more than 40,000 formerly homeless veterans in 2022, exceeding its 2022 goal by 6.3%.
A fact sheet on House America progress is posted online.
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