AUSTIN, Texas — On Monday, Austin Mayor Steve Adler joined U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge at a virtual event for the launch of a new federal program to address homelessness.
The House America initiative leverages American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to address homelessness, in partnership with mayors, county leaders, Tribal nation leaders and governors across the country. The funds and other federal resources will be used to immediately rehouse and build additional housing for people experiencing homelessness.
The American Rescue Plan offers $21.6 billion in emergency rental assistance, and many of the law’s provisions can be used to help people who are currently or at risk of experiencing homelessness.
“I’m proud to join with Secretary Fudge and her House America initiative that will empower Austin with American Rescue Plan resources needed to house people experiencing homelessness,” Adler said. “This program puts Austin within striking distance of achieving the financial goals necessary to create housing at a scale that is transformative and life-sustaining.”
Last week, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted to allocate $110 million in ARPA funding to rehousing the homeless. In June, the Austin City Council approved $106 million of ARPA funds to address homelessness.
As a member of House America, Austin will partner with HUD and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to use ARPA resources to add new units of affordable housing into the development pipeline by Dec. 31, 2022. The initiative aims to rehouse at least 100,000 households and add at least 20,000 new affordable housing units nationally by Sept. 30, 2022.
According to a release, the Housing Authority City of Austin received 242 emergency housing vouchers and $11,441,252 in HOME Investment Partnerships grants from the ARPA to help more residents obtain a home.
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