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Emergency Shelter
The Housing and Community Development Program (HCD) has
combined funds from two federal sources - the Community Development Block Grant Program
and the Emergency Shelter Grant Program - to create a Homeless Assistance Fund to
provide operating funds to shelter providers throughout King County outside the City
of Seattle. About $400,000 in Homeless Assistance Funds are provided annually, through
a Request-For Proposal (RFP) process held every two years. The Regional Affordable
Housing Program (RAHP) is a new source of operating and maintenance funds
for transitional housing and emergency shelter. For more information on the Homeless
Assistance Fund, a list of agencies currently receiving funding, or to be notified
for the next Request-For-Proposal process, please contact Janice
Hougen. Please note that capital funds for shelters can be provided through HCD's Housing
Finance Program.
Transitional Housing and Services
HCD participates in administering two countywide sources
of funds for transitional housing programs: HUD's McKinney Homeless funds, the largest
source by far; and the State of Washington's Transitional Housing Operating and Rental
Assistance Funds, providing funds for agencies serving families with children.
McKinney Supportive Housing Program Funds (federal): The McKinney Supportive
Housing Program provides funding to agencies for the provision of supportive services,
capital and operations of transitional housing that serve homeless people in King
County. Funds are awarded through a national competition sponsored by the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A consolidated King County/City of Seattle
application for these funds is submitted annually to HUD. The local King County/City
of Seattle application process commences at the beginning of the year and usually
concludes by early July. There are approximately 80 McKinney funded programs throughout
King County. For more information, please contact Kate
Speltz. For more information about HUD's national competition for Continuum of
Care Homeless Assistance Programs which includes the McKinney
Supportive Housing Program (external link), please see http://www.hud.gov.
Transitional Housing Operating and Rental Assistance (THOR): THOR funds are
made available to King County through the Washington State Office of Community Development
(OCD). The purpose of the THOR program is to provide transitional housing for homeless
families with children so they can develop resources to secure and maintain suitable,
affordable permanent housing. The King County THOR Program includes an Operating Subsidy
Program for transitional housing facilities and a Rental Assistance Program that provides
partial payments for rent assistance. King County administers the THOR funds for the
entire King County region including the City of Seattle. THOR funds are allocated
biannually (every two years) to providers serving homeless families in King County
including Seattle. For more information, please contact Debbi
Knowles.
In addition, please note that capital funds for transitional housing can be provided
through our Housing
Finance Program.
Finally, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has established the Sound
Families Initiative (external link) to help support both the capital and
operating costs of new transitional housing for families in King, Pierce and Snohomish
Counties. The City of Seattle helps the Gates Foundation administer this initiative.
Permanent Supportive Housing for the Disabled Homeless:
The Shelter Plus Care Program
Shelter Plus Care (SPC) is a federal program of
the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance grant that funds long-term rental assistance
for previously homeless people with chronic disabilities (serious mental illness,
drug/alcohol addiction or HIV/AIDS). SPC is a unique rental assistance program where
tenants must agree to participate in appropriate treatment and support services. King
County contracts with the Plymouth Housing Group to administer the SPC program which
serves clients throughout King County including Seattle. Plymouth Housing Group works
with other agencies to provide the necessary support services and treatment for SPC
clients. For more information, please contact Kate
Speltz.
Permanent Affordable Housing
People struggling to overcome homelessness need to find
permanent housing they can afford. King County supports the development of affordable
housing in several different ways: please see the Housing
Finance Program and Affordable
Housing Incentives sections of this web site.
The King County Committee to End Homelessness:
The King County Committee to End Homelessness began as a partnership between King
County, City of Seattle, United Way of King County, Seattle-King County Coalition
for the Homeless, Church Council of Greater Seattle, and many Human Service Alliances
throughout the County. The Committee has been charged with developing a vision to
end homelessness in King County by the year 2014 as well as inspiring new resources
of funding to address homelessness in the region. For additional information,
please visit the Committee's web site http://www.cehkc.org. (external
link)
Safe Harbors
Safe Harbors is a joint initiative of the City of Seattle,
King County, and United Way of King County. The goal of the Safe Harbors project is
to design and implement an outcome-based, HMIS (Homeless Management Information System)
to facilitate timely, effecient, and effective access to needed services and supports
for persons who are homeless in Seattle and King County. For more information see: www.safeharbors.org (external
link)
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