$1.4 Million Grant to Benefit Idaho's Homeless

BOISE - Over $1.4 million has been awarded to the Idaho Housing and Finance Association and its statewide housing partners. A federal grant for the Continuum of Care / Homeless Assistance Program has been received for the sixth year in a row.

The immediate impact of the grant will be to provide permanent and continued funding for housing accommodations and support services for approximately 50 transitional housing units and their families.

"The ongoing efforts of the Idaho Homeless Coordination Network lends itself to the true 'Idaho spirit'," said Gerald Hunter, IHFA's president and executive director. "We all believe that helping those who truly need help in transitional periods of their lives benefits all of us long-term."

The Idaho Housing and Finance Association serves as the lead agency in Idaho's Homeless Coordination Network. This process includes coordinating the efforts of more than 60 statewide homeless service agencies.

Continuum of Care grants provide transitional and permanent housing in addition to other support services such as job training, health care counseling, child care, substance abuse treatment and living skills training.

The grant comes through a joint effort of Idaho's housing partners and a nationally competitive application process submitted to HUD for continued support of statewide shelter and support service projects.

See the following for a breakdown of housing partners and approved projects for Idaho.

IDAHO'S HOMELESS COORDINATION NETWORK CONTINUUM OF CARE AWARDS

RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS

• Idaho Housing and Finance Association, in collaboration with Idaho Department of Health and Welfare's Community Mental Health System, will use $516,000 to provide permanent housing (29 units) and supportive services for persons with serious mental illness. They will also use $56,400 to provide rental assistance for 11 units chosen partly by the participants.
  
  

• The Bonner County Homeless Task Force will receive continued funding for the Blue Haven Transitional Housing, a nine-unit project serving homeless families with children, in the amount of $136,920 per year for three years. The task force will also receive $102,742 to continue a transition housing project for the Trestle Creek Friendship Center with four units for families with children and four units for single women, all with supportive services.
  
  

• The South Central Community Action Agency in Twin Falls will receive $55,708 per year for three years to continue a transitional three-unit housing project, along with supportive services, serving homeless families with children.
  
  

• Idaho Legal Aid Services and the Valley Crisis Center of Nampa, serving women and children who are homeless as a result of domestic violence, will receive $66,990 per year for two years to continue a project consisting of transitional housing, supportive services and legal representation leading to self-sufficiency.
  
  

• The CLUB, Inc. Transitional Housing project in Idaho Falls will receive $85,580 to continue their nine-unit housing project serving homeless families with children.

The Idaho Housing and Finance Association, a financial services and housing organization, provides funding for affordable housing in Idaho communities where they are most needed and when it is economically feasible. IHFA uses no state funds or state employees to support its operations.

The Idaho Housing and Finance Association, a financial services and housing organization, provides funding for affordable housing in Idaho communities where they are most needed and when it is economically feasible. IHFA uses no state funds or state employees to support its operations. For more information, visit our Web site at www.ihfa.org.