Eight Lynn organizations share $1.7 million to help homeless

LYNN – Eight non-profit organizations in Lynn will share $1.7 million in federal funds that support local programs to assist the homeless.The funding was announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which awarded $64.3 million statewide as part of the same aid package.HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said the Obama Administration authorized the grants to provide support to 303 local homeless service programs throughout Massachusetts. The funding was part of $1.6 billion released nationwide.”With the foreclosure and unemployment crisis looming, millions of families – both homeowners and renters – are in danger of losing their homes so we must focus substantial resources to help those families find stable housing,” said Donovan. “The grants being awarded, along with the recovery plan’s additional $1.5 billion, will offer a critical lifeline to those persons and families who, after a foreclosure or job loss, might otherwise be faced with homelessness.”Donovan added that the funding program has a track record of providing real housing solutions for “our most vulnerable neighbors.”The homeless funding is delivered in two ways, through Continuum of Care grants and through Emergency Shelter Grants. The first provide permanent and transitional housing to homeless persons and include services such as job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and child care. In Massachusetts, $59 million in Continuum of Care funding is being awarded.The latter method, Emergency Shelter Grants, fund local shelters and related social service and homeless prevention programs. The money is for improving and operating emergency shelters for the homeless and can be used for job training, health care, drug and alcohol treatment, childcare and homelessness prevention activities. Emergency Shelter Grants are designed to move the homeless away from life on the street toward permanent housing. The HUD package included $4,7 million for this purpose in Massachusetts.