U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson today announced the allocation of $2.96 billion in Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), including $14,805,197 in funding to Kansas to support homeless Americans and individuals at risk of becoming homeless because of hardships such as job loss, wage reduction, or illness due to COVID-19. This funding is in addition to $1 billion of ESG grants announced within a week of President Trump signing the CARES Act. View Kansas state allocations below.
“Homelessness was a major issue in some cities across our Nation long before this pandemic occurred, and unfortunately the dire living conditions of our most vulnerable Americans left many without a home to isolate in or proper medical and healthcare resources to defend themselves against this invisible enemy,” said Secretary Carson. “As we continued to monitor the effects of COVID-19 in at risk communities, the Department and our partners worked quickly to respond to outbreaks and minimize the spread from hotspots to other locations. This increased funding to help provide for our homeless will make a difference now as we combat the coronavirus and inform long-term, innovative solutions for addressing homelessness in the future.”
“With this funding homeless providers can continue their work to house and keep the most vulnerable individuals and families, in their communities, safe through this health crisis,” said Regional Administrator Jason Mohr.
Congress has provided $4 billion for HUD’s ESG program for local governments to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus among individuals and families who are homeless, receiving homeless assistance, or are at risk of becoming homeless. In total, HUD has allocated $3.96 billion in ESG funding to impacted communities in every U.S. State and territory, and the remainder $40 million is being utilized to provide technical assistance to build capacity of grantees in those communities receiving ESG funding.