The City of New Bedford has been awarded $1,758,917 in homeless assistance funding by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of a competitive grant process under the HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) Program.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded approximately $2 billion to renew support to thousands of local homeless assistance programs across the nation. HUD’s CoC grants provide critically needed support to local programs on the front lines serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
The grant awards are part of a very competitive national application process led by the City of New Bedford’s Department of Planning, Housing and Community Development (DPHCD). The DPHCD coordinates a comprehensive response to homelessness using a “Continuum of Care” methodology through a local network known as the Homeless Service Provider’s Network (HSPN). A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a community’s plan or strategy to organize and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of people who are in the midst of a housing crisis and/or are experiencing homelessness as they move to stable housing and maximum self-sufficiency. A CoC strategy includes action steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness.
CoC grant funding supports a broad array of interventions designed to assist individuals and families experiencing homelessness, particularly those living in places not meant for human habitation, located in sheltering programs or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. Each year this funding serves hundreds of people through a coordinated entry system, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing, transitional and permanent housing programs.
The grant funding will help to support eight local programs totaling $1,758,917 to be distributed to the following programs and agencies addressing homelessness in New Bedford:
- THE CALL (Catholic Social Services) $ 46,757
- HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM $ 74,524
- FAMILY PRESERVATION PROGRAM (SEMCOA) $ 274,604
- TRANSITION TO STABILITY (Catholic Social Services) $ 159,109
- STEP UP (Positive Action Against Chemical Addition/PAACA) $ 286,082
- PORTICO (Catholic Social Services) $ 622,163
- PRISM (Catholic Social Services) $ 114,233
- WELCOME HOME (Steppingstone) $ 181,445
Please contact the Department of Planning, Housing & Community Development at Jennifer.Clarke@newbedford-ma.gov with any questions regarding these awards.
