Essex County gets $461,000 in federal food, shelter funds

LYNN – Essex County will receive $461,636 in federal assistance to provide emergency food and shelter for the region’s homeless.The funds were part of a $3.9 million aid package announced Wednesday by Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry.”No one in our commonwealth should suffer the desperation of not knowing whether they will have a safe place to sleep at night or have a decent meal,” Kennedy said. “Our shelters and crisis centers provide urgently needed services for those in need, but their resources are strained to the breaking point because of the soaring cost of food, heat, health care and housing. We need to do all we can to end hunger and homelessness in our communities, and this federal role is essential.”The federal dollars were awarded to Massachusetts under the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFS) and can be used to support food, shelter, rent, mortgage and utility assistance programs for persons facing non-disaster related emergencies.”This money to help the homeless in our state comes at a critical time when more people are losing their homes and jobs and the ranks of the homeless include more and more veterans,” said Kerry, adding that the funds will help provide food and supportive services for the homeless, upgrade existing facilities and create new, innovative local programs.The awards, by county, were as follows: Barnstable County, $148,228; Berkshire County, $81,254; Bristol County, $420,548; Essex County, $461,636; Hampden County, $319,787; Hampshire County, $87,012; Middlesex County, $773,501; Norfolk County, $357,167; Plymouth County, $315,918; Suffolk County, $410,852; Worcester County, $507,145; and the State Set-Aside Committee, $28,999.The total aid package was $3,912,047.Additional jurisdictions in Massachusetts may be selected at a later date by the committee. The EFS National Board is headed by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency. It is composed of representatives from American Red Cross, Catholic Charities, USA, United Jewish Communities, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., The Salvation Army, and United Way of America.The committee decides on supplemental funding to shelters, soup kitchens, and food banks. One-month awards for rent, mortgage, and utility assistance are also made available. In each jurisdiction, a local board advertises the availability of the funds, establishes priorities, selects local non-profit and government agencies to receive supplemental funding, and monitors program compliance.The EFS program has been in existence since 1983 and was authorized under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987.