How to Find and Implement HUD Funding for Your Community
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development, better known as HUD, can be an excellent resource and ally if your goal is to ensure that residents in your community, with low to moderate income, have adequate housing, for long-term or emergency situations. HUD has been funding projects with state and local partners since it began in 1965. Here are some important HUD funds that could help your community.
Community Development Block Grant Program
This type of funding is for the purpose of creating stronger, more resilient communities. That can mean a lot of things – infrastructure, economic development, affordable housing or housing rehabilitation, homeowner assistance, community centers, public services, and more. This allows for broad flexibility in how you can use the grant funds, so long as they fit one of HUD’s broad national goals, which are to aid low- and moderate-income people, prevent or eliminate slum or blight conditions, or take care of an urgent situation that threatens health or safety.
Emergency Shelter Grants
HUD funds are available in the event of a disaster to provide emergency shelter and prevent homelessness. They can be used to set up essential services, convert a building into a temporary shelter, and manage their operations. The actual amount available is on a formula basis per state and eligible jurisdiction.
Emergencies, such as hurricanes or floods, which can leave people unexpectedly homeless overnight, clearly require stealth management to ensure HUD funds are rapidly requested and properly distributed to those in need. These are situations in which local governments have an urgent need to stabilize the community and ensure safety, preventing a humanitarian crisis on top of the disaster.
Emergency Housing Vouchers
This is HUD’s first-ever special purpose voucher program designed to address homelessness for non-veterans. It has been driving unprecedented collaboration between public housing agencies, homeless services organizations, and victim services groups. It serves multiple vulnerable populations, including victims of domestic abuse and human trafficking. This is a bold action HUD is taking to ensure more people in need are able to secure and retain homes.
Navigating HUD Compliance
Like any entity that must manage billions of dollars in funding, thousands of communities, and countless community and individual needs, safeguards have to be in place to ensure fair and proper use of funds. It’s extremely important to learn HUD compliance inside and out so that your state, city, or municipality doesn’t hit a roadblock and time delay in the process. For any HUD grant, your goals and strategies must be within their scope, and you need to be accountable for the use of funds. HUD recommends asking for Technical Assistance from partner organizations such as Capital Access. We live and breathe HUD compliance, so we’re able to keep you well inside the guardrails.
The Greater Challenge – Implementing Funds
Applying for funds and implementing projects to use those funds requires a strategic plan and effective management. Capital Access has a depth of experience in helping state and local governments navigate the complexities of the process, from initial application to training your staff, to managing proper and compliant implementation.
In emergency housing situations, Capital Access is able to quickly jump in with the staff, software, and expertise to become your full-service case management operation. We handle the applications, determine eligibility, and get funds to where they’re needed.
One component of compliance is making sure the funds are expended toward your goals. Without ample staff to manage programs, unspent funds that are not matched with the unmet needs become a compliance issue. Capital Access is exceptional at ensuring that your HUD funding is used as intended, and spent where it’s needed, benefitting the people it was intended to serve.
Put Capital Access to Work on Your HUD Project
There’s no substitute for the experience and passion Capital Access brings to community projects. Any community that needs to help vulnerable communities have a safe, affordable place to live, even in a disaster, will be able to do so more efficiently and effectively with Capital Access on your side.