How Do the Homeless Get Help From HUD?
HUD provides funds to state and local governments and to nonprofit organizations to assist homeless individuals and families. The funds are used in a “continuum of care” to help the homeless move from the streets, to temporary shelter, to supportive housing (with services, if necessary), and ultimately back to the mainstream of American life. The Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development administers most of HUD’s homeless assistance programs. HUD’s homeless efforts began on a national level with the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, which provided the first direct HUD program to help communities deal with homelessness. More than $4.8 billion has been provided and more than 2 million homeless Americans have been assisted by these programs through FY 1996. In addition, since the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program was begun in 1992 through the end of 1996, almost $646 million has been appropriated for housing assistance and rela
