Local homelessness initiative picked for $1.3M federal grant

The Ozarks Alliance to End Homelessness is set to receive around $1.3 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The grant is part of nearly $3.2 billion in continuum-of-care program awards announced in a news release yesterday by HUD.

“Now, more than ever, we are doing all we can to get people off the street and into permanent homes with access to services. That is why we are making sure the service providers on the front lines of this crisis have the resources they need,” HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said in the release. “At HUD, we have served or permanently housed 1.2 million people experiencing homelessness in the last three years alone. The historic awards we are announcing today will help expand community capacity to assist more people obtain the safety and stability of a home, along with the supports they need to achieve their life goals.”

The Ozarks Alliance to End Homelessness, the federal continuum of care initiative for Springfield and Christian, Greene and Webster counties, serves as the regional planning body for coordinating homeless services and funding. Community Partnership of the Ozarks Inc. has facilitated the initiative locally since 1995, when HUD established the program nationally, according to CPO's website.

The alliance is one of eight Missouri continuum-of-care organizations that are receiving funding through the latest grant round, according to the release.