South Raleigh News

Durham projects serving the needs of people without homes received over $1.7 million in federal grant funding earlier this month to further support their efforts to help those in need in the Bull City.

The City of Durham Community Development Department has been notified that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program has awarded $1,725,699 to 11 Durham-based projects. The grants will help fund permanent supportive housing for homeless persons and families, short-term rental subsidies, and Durham’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), which is a common database of the confidential records of Durham’s homeless people.

In announcing awards to approximately 7,000 projects across the nation on March 14, HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said, “Access to stable housing is a basic necessity – the safety of a home is essential, especially as we continue to fight the COVID-19 virus. These Continuum of Care program grants, coupled with the historic resources in the American Rescue Plan, will deliver communities the resources needed to ensure that every person in a respective community has the equitable opportunity to a safe and stable home.”

The following Durham organizations and programs received FY2021 CoC funding:

• Housing for New Hope’s Andover Apartments (permanent supportive housing): $70,788
• Housing for New Hope’s Streets to Home Projects I and II (permanent supportive housing): $428,549
• Housing for New Hope’s William Square Apartments (permanent supportive housing): $72,231
• North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness NC Homeless Management Information Network project (Durham’s HMIS): $55,752
• Housing for New Hope’s Rapid Rehousing Projects I and III (short-term rental assistance): $249,248
• Urban Ministries of Durham’s Fresh Start project (short-term rental assistance) $230,015
• Durham Housing Authority’s Home Again project (permanent supportive housing) $140,025
• Alliance Health’s DASH project (permanent supportive housing): $194,320
• The LGBTQ Center of Durham’s Rapid Rehousing Project: $284,771

According to Community Development Director Reginald J. Johnson, these funds are vital to Durham’s efforts to help people experiencing homelessness. “Continuum of Care funds are used to help house people, and that is vitally important,” Johnson said. “We appreciate all that is being done to shelter people who are homeless and all the community partnerships that are effectively ending homelessness for hundreds of people in Durham every year. We especially are excited this year about the Durham CoC’s new partnership with the LGBTQ Center of Durham to rapidly rehouse members of the LGBTQ+ community in Durham who experience homelessness due to domestic and sexual violence.”

The City’s Community Development Department serves as the Durham CoC’s lead agency, staffing the collaborative effort to address homelessness in Durham County and facilitating the development of the community’s annual CoC grant application to HUD. 

For a complete listing of the grants, visit HUD’s website. For more information about Durham’s Continuum of Care Program, visit the website or contact Senior Analyst Lloyd Schmeidler with the City’s Community Development Department at (919) 560-4570, ext. 22267 or Lloyd.Schmeidler@DurhamNC.gov. 

About the City of Durham Community Development Department

The Community Development Department is responsible for coordinating the City’s housing resources and various housing assistance programs as well as promoting affordable housing by working with investors and community housing development organizations. The department also administers the City’s entitlement programs from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. Guided by the City’s Strategic Plan, the department helps to ensure that the City has thriving, livable neighborhoods by enhancing housing quality and affordability for Durham residents

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