NYC and nonprofits got $60 million in new federal aid to battle homelessness. Here’s how they’ll spend the money.

New York City and several nonprofits the city has partnered with to address street homelessness were collectively awarded $60 million in federal grants and 612 additional NYCHA housing choice vouchers on Monday, April 17.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the awards in an effort to address street homelessness among unsheltered people in cities and rural communities.

The city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) will receive $13.6 million of the $60 million award, with the remaining amount spread across several nonprofit partner organizations such as Volunteers of America, Safe Horizon, Jericho Project, Care for the Homeless, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, Breaking Ground, Urban Pathways, and Goddard Riverside.

The partner organizations will receive the awards via the New York City Continuum of Care, a funding apparatus overseen by the city’s Department of Homeless Services. The DHS tasks the city’s Department of Social Services with applying for funds.

Molly Wasow Park, acting commissioner of the city’s Department of Social Services, said the HUD grants will be used to connect unsheltered people on the streets with services and housing.

The DHS plans to use its funds for the “creation of a centralized complex care coordination unit to connect unsheltered homeless, outreach teams, shelters, hospitals, and community-based health providers to help unsheltered people participating in their programs get services and long-term housing.”

Marion McFadden, HUD principal assistant secretary for community planning and development, said the collaboration aims to produce the best solutions to tackle street homelessness.

“When we work together to deploy comprehensive solutions, we can make a huge impact in reducing, and ultimately ending homelessness,” McFadden said on Monday when the grants were announced. The New York City Continuum of Care applied for the grants when the notice of available funding was issued in September.

The applicants were asked to partner with NYCHA and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. This partnership allowed for the issuing of the housing choice vouchers, which allow people experiencing homelessness to get long-term housing. The NYCHA housing choice vouchers are specifically meant for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

“HUD stepped up with funding and additional vouchers so our partners can continue to provide the services that are so desperately needed,” said Alicka Ampry-Samuel, HUD regional administrator for New York and New Jersey. “This funding will go a long way to provide housing and services to New York’s homeless individuals and families.”

The $60 million and the housing vouchers were part of the second round of grants that now total $171.2 million and 3,300 vouchers. The vouchers that HUD has awarded cover 115 new projects that address street homelessness.

Here are the recipients of the $60 million grant awarded to New York City, in order of highest funding received.

New York City’s Department of Homeless Services: $13,625,719
Breaking Ground: $11,999,447
Care for the Homeless: $9,170,103
Jericho Project: $8,906,646
Goddard Riverside: $3,940,376
Urban Pathways: $3,782,040
Gay Men’s Health Crisis: $3,013,669
Volunteers of America-Greater New York: $2,989,368
Safe Horizon: $2,572,632

How they’ll spend the money

Breaking Ground, which aims to provide permanent supportive housing to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, provided amNewYork Metro with a breakdown on how it plans to use the roughly $12 million in funding.

A majority of the funding, approximately $8.3 million, will fund Project IN-Reach, which the nonprofit stated “significantly enhances harm reduction and health care coordination across Breaking Ground’s street outreach teams in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.”

The funding will support a new hiring round for this project: one harm reduction coordinator; three harm reduction specialists; nine “peer” consumer advocates who have experiences living with mental health conditions or substance use challenges; three clinical coordinators to facilitate access to medical and behavioral care; and 15 outreach case managers to reduce case load sizes and increase focus on housing applications.

Another portion of the grant, roughly $3.7 million, will go towards Project Welcome MAT, which the nonprofit said “accelerates (housing) move-ins to supportive units across Breaking Ground’s portfolio (both new units and re-rentals) by eliminating hurdles.” Re-rentals are affordable housing developments financed by the New York City Housing Development Corporation. The funding could potentially reduce the time people spend in homelessness by at least two months on average, according to Breaking Ground.

The funding will support new hiring for Project Welcome MAT, including a director of housing placement services to streamline placements across the Breaking Ground portfolio; transition coordinators and “peer” transition advocates to help guide clients through the move-in process; and a SOAR specialist to help clients get connected to SSI and SSDI benefits.

President and CEO of Breaking Ground Brenda Rosen said in a statement that the funding will help people living on the streets obtain housing.

Said Rosen: “We look forward to expanding our critical work in providing safe and stable homes for those experiencing homelessness, helping them rebuild their lives.”

More staff and street outreach

Gay Men’s Health Crisis, a nonprofit supporting people living with HIV and AIDS, shared how it plans on using the funds with amNewYork Metro. The funding will go towards the nonprofit’s Rapid Re-Housing Program, which oversees the use of 40 housing units with 93 beds; a new Permanent Supportive Housing Program with 35 housing units; and a new program for the “Special Unsheltered” population (people who do not have “fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and in urgent need of housing”) with 25 housing units.

Jacquelin Diaz, associate vice president of operations and housing at GMHC, said in a statement that the nonprofit works towards locating affordable and safe housing units priced at fair market rates across New York City for its clients.

Said Diaz: “GMHC will continue to improve housing stability, decrease homelessness, increase access to health insurance, and improve our clients’ ability to live independently.”