Emergency Housing Grants
According to the National Resource and Training Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness, as of 2009, about 1 percent of the general population in the United States is homeless at any given time. Homelessness can be triggered by a sudden change in circumstances, an emergency, such as the threat of domestic violence, an unexpected job loss, a house fire, or an illness that makes working impossible. Federal grants exist that can help some of these people avoid homelessness.
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HUD Emergency Shelter Grants Program
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The US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s ESG (Emergency Shelter Grants) program helps to fund shelters for people who have become homeless due to an emergency. The grants to the shelters help with their operational costs. They also have grants to help people who are about to become homeless due to eviction or foreclosure, or whose utilities are about to be cut off. HUD gives the grants to state and local governments, who then make them available to their own relevant agencies, and to non-profit agencies within their areas. It is these government and non-profit agencies who distribute the funds. The best place to start is the Department of Human Services in your area. They can help you get the grant, or point you to an organization that can help you.
Department of Justice Transitional Housing Assistance Grant
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The US Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women hosts a “Transitional Housing Assistance Program Grant for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Stalking, or Sexual Assault Program.” This offers people who fall into the above-listed groups emergency transitional housing, temporarily, at women’s shelters that are financed by the grant. They also help you then move into short-term housing and, eventually, permanent housing, by assisting you with rent and utilities. Grants are administered by state and local governments, as well as non-profit organizations that help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. You can learn about the grants by seeking help from non-profits in your area that advocate for battered and abused women.
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FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency helps the homeless find shelter, and helps to prevent people from becoming homeless through its Emergency Food and Shelter (EFSP) Program. For people who are about to lose their homes due to a non-disaster-related emergency, this program helps with rent or mortgage payments. To administer this program, FEMA works with member agencies, including the United Way, the Salvation Army, the United Jewish Communities, the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Information about the grants is available from those organizations in your area.
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