USICH Blog
03/15/2013 - What We’re Talking About: The Week at USICH - March 11-14
HUD releases CoC Renewal Awards for 7,000 Organizations Across the Country
This week, HUD released its Continuum of Care (CoC) Program awards. It renewed $1.5 billion in grants to support more than 7,000 local programs serving people and families experiencing homelessness across the U.S.
Read the Press Release and list of recipients here.
Here are a few articles we shared through our social media covering the local impact of the CoC awards. We encourage you to find stories from your local community and share them on social media and among your friends and colleagues. Each of these organizations are the leaders in providing high-quality and vital services to Veterans, youth, families, children and individuals experiencing homelessness in our nation and are committed to ending homelessness. Below are a few stories from around the country:
$12.4 million awarded to Cincinnati and Hamilton County
$1.6 million awarded to Santa Cruz
$21 million awarded to Wisconsin
$31 million awarded to Georgia
$32 million awarded to Connecticut
Efforts to address Veteran homelessness
Across the country, efforts to address Veteran homelessness continue to gain momentum - from the openings of new permanent housing for formerly homeless Veterans to statewide plans and initiatives. In Bakersfield, CA, an organization helps veterans and their families experiencing homelessnessfind permanent supportive housing through a new program funded by HUD. In downtown San Diego, a facility opened to provide permanent apartments and interim housing to veterans experiencing homelessness.
In Rhode Island, the State Senate is considering a bill that would allocate $1.75 million to build homes for up to half of the state’s veterans experiencing homelessness.
And, this week Massachusetts Lt. Governor Tim P. Murray unveiled the state’s plan to reduce the number of veterans experiencing homelessness, committing his State to the Federal goal of ending Veteran homelessness by 2015. Read about it in The Boston Globe.
National Low Income Housing Coalition releases Out of Reach report
This week, NLIHC released its 2013 Out of Reach report, providing key research in the field of affordable housing and further illuminating the crisis of housing affordability and accessibility in our nation.The report demonstrates that a large number of low-income renters cannot afford the majority of units in their cities and states because of the gap between wages and rent across the country. As noted in the report, while renter households earn an average of $14.77 per hour, the actual ‘Housing Wage’ needed to afford market rents is $18.79 per hour. USICH Executive Director, Barbara Poppe took to our blog this week to comment on this report and the growing affordability gap.
Read USICH Executive Director, Barbara Poppe’s blog
NPR Covers the Challenges of Aging on the Streets
This week, NPR Reporter Pam Fessler shared the story of a growing cohort of individuals experiencing homelessness: those over 50. She went to Baltimore and spoke to a couple who are aging on the streets of Baltimore and explored their life on the margins and the health care obstacles they and others in their situation face. She also speaks to staff from Health Care for the Homeless Baltimore on the types of cases and health care issues they see on a daily basis, highlighting the need for stable housing and services in order to ensure individuals don’t die on the streets.
Listen to the story on Morning Edition and the follow up story on Tell Me More about this issue.
