The Jackson/West Tennessee Continuum of Care became one of 46 communities to be designated and receive a portion of $300 million in continuum care grants to address unsheltered homelessness and homelessness in rural communities, during a presentation at City Hall, Wednesday.
“Homelessness can be anybody living in a house, but unsheltered means somebody is living in the streets and we want to make sure we take care of that problem,” said Jose Alvarez, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Southeast Region Administrator, “This is the greatest country in the world, and we should not have that.
“The grants, which were introduced in February, totals $468 million across 62 Continuum of Care program across the United States.”
The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to promote communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; promote access to and effect utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
To help combat the problem, Alvarez announced West Tennessee communities will receive $1,666,357.
Alvarez said the total reaches $3.2 million after it was announced an additional $1,622,394 will address rural homelessness.
“Thank you for awarding these grants to us in West Tennessee,” said Scott Conger, City of Jackson Mayor, “Unsheltered homelessness is an issue, and I’m just glad we have the coalition of people in West Tennessee … to serve people.”
(PHOTO: The Jackson/West Tennessee Continuum of Care is presented a check totaling $1,666,357 at City Hall, Wednesday)
