The federal government is sending more than $8 million to the First State to help people experiencing homelessness.
Advocates say this year’s funding award is the largest the Delaware Continuum of Care has received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Delaware Continuum of Care is a state-wide collaboration of programs working to end homelessness locally.
Member programswill receive a total of $8,249,505 from HUD this year. According to HUD, that’s nearly $300,000 more than they received last year.
“That’s a major increase, because you’re dealing with a small state,” said Joseph DeFelice, Region III regional administrator for HUD. “Pretty much all the programs they put forward got funded."
DeFelice says this Continuum of Care funding is the only HUD money Delaware gets to directly fight homelessness.
Housing Alliance of Delaware Executive Director Tina Showalter called this year's Continuum of Care award from HUD "unprecedented" in Delaware.
“That’s a recognition of the fact that Delaware’s moving in the right direction and also has had some notable accomplishments, including ending veteran homelessness in the very recent past,” said Showalter. Housing Alliance of Delaware operates the Delaware Continuum of Care and the Centralized Intake for people seeking emergency shelter.
Carrie Casey, who chairs the Continuum of Care, says Connections Community Support Programs, Inc. and the Ministry of Caring are receiving the most funding through the award.
Part of the money will target permanent supportive housing— which Casey says has been shown to be an effective way of keeping people out of homelessness long-term.
The Housing Alliance of Delaware’s Point In Time count showed 1,082peoplein Delaware were homeless on Jan. 31, 2018. The 2019 Point In Time count was done last week. That data is expected to be available in April.
