After sending almost $50 million to almost 80 government agencies for housing projects across Florida last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $73 million more to help the homeless in the Sunshine State.
U.S. HUD Sec. Julian Castro announced the money would come from Tier 1 of the Obama administration’s Continuum of Care (CoC) grants to help almost 275 projects across Florida. According to HUD, the funds help the“Obama administration’s efforts to end homelessness by providing critically needed housing and support services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.” Around the nation, HUD is spending almost $1.6 billion in CoC grants in Tier 1 with an additional $300 million coming in spring in Tier 2.
“A safe, stable home is the foundation for opportunity in all of our lives,” Castro said on Tuesday. “That’s why we’re continuing to challenge communities to deploy proven strategies to help people experiencing homelessness find a place to call home. Through unprecedented partnership among every level of government and private, non-profit and philanthropic organizations, we know this goal is not just aspirational – it’s achievable.”
South Florida is getting the bulk of the funds headed to the Sunshine State. Projects that assist the homeless in Miami-Dade are getting almost $29 million of the funds with another $8.7 million headed to projects in Ft. Lauderdale. Projects in Palm Beach County are getting $4.7 million of those funds while $5 million is going to Tampa and $3.4 million to projects in St. Petersburg and Pinellas County. Efforts in Jacksonville to help the homeless are getting $3.9 million while those in Orlando are getting $6.3 million.
HUD estimates more than 564,000 people are homeless in America every night but insisted strides were being made, noting these numbers represent a drop of 11 percent from 2010 and noted there 36 percent less homeless veterans now.
Last month, Castro, whose name has garnered some buzz as a potential vice presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket this year, said $49.6 million would come to projects across the Sunshine State as part of HUD’s Capital Fund Program to improve public housing including maintenance, repairs, improving energy efficiency and other improvements.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
