News: President Obama signs the HEARTH Act into Law
| National Policy Update April 2009 Highlights of the HEARTH Act S. 808/H.R. 1877 On April 2, the U.S. House and Senate introduced the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act—legislation to reauthorize HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants Program. The Senate bill (S. 808) was introduced by Senators Reed (D-RI) and Bond (R-MO) and 12 original co-sponsors. The House version (H.R. 1877) was introduced by Representatives Moore (D-WI) and Biggert (R-IL) and 6 original co-sponsors. This year's version of the HEARTH Act is almost identical to the version that passed the full House and gained considerable bipartisan support in the Senate in the 110th Congress. Bill Highlights Increased Prevention – The HEARTH Act would provide much greater resources to communities for prevention and re-housing targeted to those who are at risk of homelessness, including people who have extremely low incomes and are doubled up, living in a hotel, or have a precarious housing situation. The bill would change the current Emergency Shelter Grants Program to the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Program, and almost double the amount for ESG to 20 percent of the total for homeless assistance. The proposed ESG program served as a model for the Homelessness Prevention Fund included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Family Rapid Re-housing Incentive – The Act would require that HUD provide incentives for rapid re-housing programs for homeless families. Rapid re-housing programs have been successfully used in numerous communities to significantly reduce family homelessness. By dramatically reducing the length of time that families are homeless, rapid re-housing programs ensure a quicker return to stability and self-sufficiency. Continued Attention to Chronic Homelessness – The bill would continue HUD's existing initiative to house people who experience chronic homelessness. However, it adds families with children to the initiative. Permanent Housing Solutions – The HEARTH Act would designate 30 percent of total funds for new permanent housing for families and individuals with a disability. It would also require that 10 percent of funds be used for permanent housing activities for families with children. Definition of Homelessness – The HEARTH Act would change HUD’s definition of homelessness to include people at imminent risk of losing their housing and families or youth who live in precarious situations and are unlikely to become stable. Communities would be able to use up to 10 percent of their resources to serve people who meet the definitions of homelessness used by other federal agencies. Communities with low rates of homelessness would be able to use more than 10 percent. Consolidate HUD’s Competitive Grant Programs – The HEARTH Act would consolidate the Supportive Housing Program, Shelter Plus Care, and the Moderate Rehabilitation/Single Room Occupancy Program into a single Continuum of Care program. This consolidation would allow communities to apply to one program rather than three, reducing the administrative burden and increasing flexibility and local decision-making. Improving Homeless Assistance in Rural Communities – The HEARTH Act creates the Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program. This program would grant rural communities greater flexibility in utilizing Homeless Assistance Grants, allowing rural areas more flexibility to identify and address the needs of homeless people or those in the worst housing situations in their communities. Rural communities would also be allowed to use more funding for capacity building. Performance-Based Focus – The HEARTH Act would increase the emphasis on performance by measuring applicants’ progress at reducing homelessness and providing incentives for proven solutions like rapid re-housing for families and permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless people. The Act would also allow communities with low levels of homelessness or that are reducing homelessness to focus more on prevention and serving people who are at risk of homelessness. Simplified Match Requirement – The HEARTH Act would require that communities provide a 25 percent match, instead of the varying levels of matching funds required by existing statute. It would, however, ensure that activities that had a lower match prior to enactment would continue to have that match requirement. Funding– The HEARTH Act authorizes a funding level of $2.2 Billion. Prepared by: National Alliance to End Homelessness www.endhomelessness.org |
From the Spring 2009 Newsletter
On May 19, both houses passed S. 896, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, which included the HEARTH Act as an amendment. President Obama signed the legislation into law on May 20, funding homeless assistance programs at $2.2 billion annually.
The HEARTH Act is the first significant reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs in nearly 20 years and allocates millions more to homelessness prevention, rapidly re-housing homeless families, and providing permanent supportive housing for homeless people with disabilities. It also modernizes and streamlines housing and services to more efficiently meet the needs of people seeking assistance.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness’ summary of the bill is to the right (or view it on their website).
EveryOne Home wants to thank our congressional representatives and the president for finally taking this long overdue action. Download a sample thank you letter below and send it to your congress person’s address. Let us know at everyonehome@acgov.org if you send something.
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Sample Thank You Letter
President Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Senator Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Senator Diane Feinstein
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Congresswoman Barbara Lee
1301 Clay Street Suite 1000-N
Oakland, CA94612
Congressman Fortney (Pete) Stark
239 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0513
Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher
2459 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515