Atlantic City, County Area Agencies Receive HUD Grants to Fight Homeless
Under the program, 224 New Jersey housing projects will be awarded more than $54 million. According to HUD, the goal of the Continuum of Care program is to assist in the Biden Administration’s goal of a 25% reduction in homelessness by 2025, and eventually eliminating homelessness altogether.
Atlantic City and Atlantic County entities received more than $670,000 in combined funding through President Joe Biden Administration’s Continuum of Care competitive grant program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced on March 28.
The funding is part of a $2.8 million award which will see thousands of housing projects across the country receive their own allocation to fight homelessness.
“Working with our local partners, these Continuum of Care program grants, deliver communities the resources they need,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “Together we can work toward a world where homelessness is a brief and rare occurrence, and every person has access to a safe, affordable and stable home so that they and their families can thrive.”
Under the program, 224 New Jersey housing projects will be awarded more than $54 million. According to HUD, the goal of the Continuum of Care program is to assist in the Biden Administration’s goal of a 25% reduction in homelessness by 2025, and eventually eliminating homelessness altogether.
According to HUD’s annual report on homelessness released in 2022, New Jersey saw strong and steady decreases in its homeless population from 2007 to 2022. Besides a 49.7 percent decrease in homelessness during that 15-year time period, New Jersey saw a 9.4 percent decrease in homelessness between 2020 and 2022. The 2022 annual report states there were 8,752 unsheltered homeless individuals living in New Jersey within a single January night.
The Continuum of Care program, which is annual and competitive, issued a notice of funding opportunity in August 2022. Housing projects submitted bids for the opportunity to receive funding, and criteria for awards included the project’s ability to use a Housing First approach, their plan to reduce unsheltered homelessness and the criminalization of homelessness, their willingness to partner with local housing and health agencies, their commitment to increasing the supply of affordable housing, and their ability to advance racial equity while addressing racial disparities in homelessness.
HUD has stated that the 2022 awards would also include more than $52 million for new projects that would support housing and services for those who have suffered domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
“Helping people move into stable housing from temporary shelters and encampments on the streets is essential to ending homelessness,” Fudge said.
To read more about the HUD Continuum of Care report click the link below:
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/coc/fy_2022_coc_competition
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The chart below is a list of projects funded in Atlantic City and Atlantic County through the COC program.
