Homelessness Update

spotlight on... New Senate Funding Bill Would Serve an Additional 20,000 Households The Senate recently took an important step to determine federal spending on homelessness programs for Fiscal Year 2019. The new draft budget from the Senate Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee makes real investments in ending homelessness through increased spending on McKinney-Vento homeless assistance grants and housing choice vouchers. Some highlights: $2.6 billion for homeless assistance grants programs, including an additional $80 million targeted toward youth homelessness and $40 million for rapid re-housing for survivors of domestic violence $40 million in new HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers $22.8 billion for tenant-based (Section 8) vouchers The $99 million increase to homeless assistance grants funding over FY 2018 spending levels would help serve an additional 15,000–20,000 households. Read More » New Report Explores the Gap Between Wages and Rent Around the Country The new Out of Reach 2018 report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition documents the gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental housing in their community. The report calculates a Housing Wage — the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn in order to afford a modest rental home without spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. Read More » New Data Resource from the Alliance Explores Stark Differences in Rates of Homelessness by Race and Ethnicity Most minority groups in the United States experience homelessness at higher rates than Whites, and therefore make up a disproportionate share of the homeless population. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have the highest rate of homelessness. African Americans have the second highest rate, followed by American Indians/Alaska Natives, people who identify as two or more races, and Hispanics. Read More » Canada Launches New Plan to Dramatically Reduce Chronic Homelessness The federal government of Canada recently announced a new coordinated approach to combat homelessness in the country. The plan, Reaching Home, includes a doubling of federal resources and a goal of reducing chronic homelessness nationally by 50% in 10 years. The Reaching Home program will continue to focus on a Housing First approach and will create more flexibility for individual communities to innovate and address local priorities. Read More » from the blog Ending Homelessness Today the official blog of the national alliance to end homelessness As Housing Affordability Takes Center Stage, Organizations Take Action on Policy by Mary Gable As results from the 2018 Point-in Time Counts begin to emerge, we see a scattered portrait of homelessness in the United States. While many communities are making progress, homelessness continues to rise elsewhere. Meanwhile, the housing affordability crisis looms large, as wages continue to fall far beneath housing costs. According to the National Low Income […] The post As Housing Affordability Takes Center Stage, Organizations Take Action on Policy appeared first on National Alliance to End Homelessness. Read more » comments » | What Gets Measured Gets Managed by NAEH This guest post was written by Jill Khadduri, Senior Fellow and Principal Associate for Social and Economic Policy at Abt Associates. An old adage tells us, "What gets measured gets managed." That's why, beginning in the early 2000s, communities across the country have routinely collected data on homelessness. Each year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban […] The post What Gets Measured Gets Managed appeared first on National Alliance to End Homelessness. Read more » comments » | New Housing Vouchers for Homeless or At-Risk Foster Youth: What They Are and How to Apply by Mindy Mitchell The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced $30 million in new funding for Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers. FUP vouchers are a vital tool in the fight to end homelessness for families and youth. They can be used to serve families involved in the welfare system as well as young people […] The post New Housing Vouchers for Homeless or At-Risk Foster Youth: What They Are and How to Apply appeared first on National Alliance to End Homelessness. Read more » comments » | About Us The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonprofit, non-partisan, organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. Join Us The Alliance is online: on Facebook, on Twitter, on our blog, and on our website! Join the Alliance's online community, and stay up-to-date with homelessness and housing information. www.endhomelessness.org Forward to a Friend Need Technical Assistance? Visit the Center for Capacity Building to learn more about the ways the Center can help your community end homelessness.