02.13.19

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $101 Million In Continued Funding For Local Homeless Assistance Programs

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that a total of $101,532,628 in grants have been awarded to renew support to more than 400 local homeless assistance programs across Illinois. The funding, which is awarded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care Program (CoC), will support a broad array of interventions designed to assist individuals and families experiencing homelessness, particularly those living in places not meant for habitation, located in sheltering programs, or at imminent risk of becoming homeless.

The full list of programs receiving renewed funding in Illinois is available here.

“The recent record-breaking cold temperatures felt across Illinois serve as a potent reminder of the importance of ensuring that all people have access to safe and reliable housing,” Durbin said. “This critical federal funding will help thousands of individuals and families across Illinois get back on their feet. I applaud the work of these organizations and will continue fighting to ensure they receive support at the federal level.” 

“Individuals across Illinois rely on investments like these to gain access to affordable and reliable housing, Duckworth said. “Having a safe place to stay is an important first step for families to move forward with their lives. I will keep advocating for federal funding with Senator Durbin to help ensure these organizations receive the funding they need to assist some of our state’s most vulnerable residents.”

With the goal of long-term stability, the CoC Program is designed to assist individuals and families experiencing homelessness, and to provide the services needed to help such individuals move into transitional and permanent housing.  More broadly, the CoC Program is designed to promote community-wide planning and strategic use of resources to address homelessness; improve coordination and integration with mainstream resources and other programs targeted to people experiencing homelessness; improve data collection and performance measurement; and allow each community to tailor its programs to the particular strengths and challenges in assisting homeless individuals and families within that community.

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