HUD to allocate $130M in NJ to increase affordable housing for the homeless

Linda Lindner//April 16, 2021

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge, along with Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser held a Zoom call on April 14 to discuss the nearly $5 billion in American Rescue Plan funds allocated by HUD to help communities across the country create affordable housing and services for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

New Jersey will receive $130,874,863 in HUD funding that will go a long way to alleviate homelessness in the Garden State. The supplemental funding is allocated through the HOME Investment Partnerships Program to 651 grantees, including states, insular areas and local governments.

“Homelessness in the United States was increasing even before COVID-19, and we know the pandemic has only made the crisis worse,” said Fudge. “HUD’s swift allocation of this $5 billion in American Rescue Plan funding reflects our commitment to addressing homelessness as a priority. With this strong funding, communities across the country will have the resources needed to give homes to the people who have had to endure the COVID-19 pandemic without one.”

The nearly $5 billion in HOME-ARP funding is the first of two homelessness-related funding opportunities from the American Rescue Plan that HUD will release. In the coming weeks, HUD will announce the allocation of funding for emergency vouchers for people experiencing and at-risk of homelessness.

“The Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress shows that there were 9,662 homeless New Jerseyans before the pandemic, a number that has the potential to increase,” said HUD Newark Field Office Director Justin Scheid. “Children and families deserve a decent place to live and the HOME/ARP funding can begin to heal the lives affected by homelessness and the fear of becoming homeless.”

The $4.925 billion in HOME-ARP funding gives states the flexibility to best meet the needs of people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness, including through development of affordable housing, tenant-based rental assistance, supportive services, and acquisition and development of non-congregate shelter units. Funds must be spent by 2030.