December 28, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has distributed nearly $11 million of federal funds to 31 organizations in Minnesota working to help individuals, families and unaccompanied youth find, secure and stay in affordable housing.
Minnesota received $23.5 million of the $1.5 billion Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) funding, authorized under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). More than half of the funds will go directly to certain cities and counties in the state; DHS received the remaining $10.9 million to use over three years, primarily to distribute among grantees whose awards began on Oct. 1 and range from $41,500 to $1.5 million.
“We are excited to work with our community partners to help people stay in their homes and find new homes, and we know this funding will be critical in their success,” said Chuck Johnson, assistant commissioner of Children and Family Services at DHS, which administers the grants.
The goal of the federal program is to prevent homelessness among single adults, families and unaccompanied youth whenever possible, and to rapidly re-house those who have already become homeless. The program provides a variety of services to these individuals, who are at or below 50 percent of the area median income as determined by HUD. Services can include assistance paying temporary rental and utilities’ costs or debt; moving and storage costs; motel vouchers if shelter is not available; and other relocation and stabilization services.
A list of Minnesota agencies receiving these grants and information on housing support are available on the DHS Web site.
This information is available on the DHS Web site: www.dhs.state.mn.us
Contact:
Beth Voigt
DHS Communications
(651) 431-3833
