The Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program: A Federal Grant Available from HUD
Funding Opportunity Number: FR-6500-N-35
As a grant writer (one of my hats) I tell potential applicants there are many competitive federal grant programs at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other federal and agencies to help serve homeless persons. There are over a dozen competitions for funding going on right now.
Just announced is this opportunity, with applications due on June 28, 2022.
In programs such as this one, the services can be delivered on a larger scale. In other words, whole communities should be impacted by the local project.
In their overview of the grant program, HUD tells us “The Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) is an initiative designed to reduce the number of youth experiencing homelessness. The goal of the YHDP is to support selected communities, including rural, suburban, and urban areas across the United States, in the development and implementation of a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness” (Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)).
In addition, the title of the program tells us it is obvious HUD hopes to fund some local projects that will serve as models, providing data to be shared nationally in the fight to get rid of homelessness in our nation. HUD explains, “Additionally, HUD is committed to sharing the experience of YHDP communities and mobilizing communities around the country toward the same end.”
The details on the purposes of the grant projects locally are spelled out further in the funding opportunity pages: “HUD will share outcomes and make resources publicly available as quickly as possible to accelerate efforts to prevent and end youth homelessness nationally. In addition, HUD, and to the extent possible, its Federal partners, will work to accelerate HUD's learning related to youth and the concepts of:
· Housing First;
· Assessment and prioritization;
· Coordinated entry;
· Risk and protective factors for youth homelessness;
· Diversion from child welfare and systems of justice;
· Success in education and employment;
· Serving victims of violence, including trafficking;
· LGBTQ youth, youth under the age of 18, and pregnant and parenting youth; and
· System performance measures”
(FR-6500-N-35 Youth Homeless Demonstration Program FINAL (hud.gov))
Applicants should be aware that this year, HUD will fund local projects “with a priority for communities with substantial rural populations in up to eight locations” (FR-6500-N-35 Youth Homeless Demonstration Program FINAL (hud.gov)). The total points to be awarded for each application are 100, but an applicant organization may receive a maximum of 10 extra points if they show “…in the application that it is requesting participation as a rural community and the geographic area covered by the application meets the rural definition found in” HUD guidance for applicants.
Who may apply? A wide variety of applicants will be eligible to apply: state and county governments, nonprofit organizations, city and township governments, Indian Tribes and tribally designated housing entities, plus some special collaborative community groups.
If in doubt whether your office or agency is eligible, contact HUD officials. Individuals are not eligible to apply for these grants.
HUD staff will be available to provide clarification on the program details. Questions regarding specific program requirements should be directed to: Caroline Crouse, phone: 612-843-6451 and email: youthdemo@hud.gov
These are major grant projects. HUD has established a minimum award amount of $1,000,000 for each project, and a maximum of $15,000,000 for each project. They will fund about two dozen projects and the total funds in this program come to $72,000,000 to be awarded.
Training and resources for assistance are available from HUD. Project applicants that need assistance completing the applications or understanding the program requirements under the YHDP guidelines may access training materials developed by technical assistance providers at www.hudexchange.info/homelessness-assistance/.
For program resources please visit www.HUD.gov
Note that all potential project Applicants that require information and technical support concerning the YHDP details and the project applications may submit questions to HUD at youthdemo@hud.gov
Please remember that the application due date is June 28, 2022, for this round of applications.