Federal dollars are expected to roll in any time now to help the County’s population of 10,000+ homeless people.
The money will go toward 52 local homeless housing programs that provide job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and childcare.
The County of San Diego applied for homeless funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) last January on behalf of the Regional Continuum of Care (CoC), a joint collaborative effort between the County of San Diego and the City of San Diego which encompasses local services to the homeless.
HUD granted $15,067,538 in renewal funding. The money will help a wide range of the homeless population from individuals, families and veterans to victims of domestic violence. It will fund transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), an online countywide database that allows providers to manage services. For a list of local recipients and grant amounts, check HUD’s announcement and go to page 32.
HUD is currently considering an additional funding request for new programs and a decision is expected this summer. If granted, that funding will go toward three new housing programs specifically targeting the chronic homeless and their families plus pay for funds to expand the current HMIS system.
San Diego County currently has the third highest homeless population in the nation yet ranks 18th when it comes to federal funding eligibility to help the homeless. HUD reported the statistics in a report last November and it shows San Diego County falls behind only New York and Los Angeles in the number of homeless people.
“This renewed funding is good news, however, our region deserves and needs more funding to help the rising number of homeless on our streets,” said Board Chairman Greg Cox. “HUD has been using an outdated formula and we are working to change it to bring more federal dollars to our region.”
“San Diego is not being treated fairly,” said Supervisor Ron Roberts. “If we have the third highest homeless population in the nation, we should not be behind so many others in receiving funding.”
Both the City and County of San Diego are lobbying HUD for more federal money in keeping with the size of the region’s homeless population.
