Miami-Dade County

‘They Need Housing, They Need It Now': Miami-Dade Awarded $21M Federal Grant to Fight Homelessness

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded nearly $315 million in grants to 46 communities across the nation

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Miami-Dade was awarded a $21 million grant by the federal government Thursday to fight homelessness in the county.

The money will come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Miami-Dade County was among the first set of communities in the nation to receive grants and vouchers to address the urban and unsheltered homelessness crisis.

"It's a great day in the 305," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a news conference. "... We all know the key to ending homelessness is housing ... This investment today makes sure we can add extremely affordable housing units to the pipeline of those who need it most."

The HUD's grant adds to the county's own $25 million investment toward the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust.

"If we don't find permanent housing that we own, we can't move people out of the shelters and out of the streets," said Ron Book, chairman of the Homeless Trust.

Currently, there are an estimated 1,056 unsheltered homeless people in Miami, and about 2,400 living in shelters, Book said.

"They need housing and they need it now, and that is what our community demands of us," Book said.

The announcement came as second gentleman Doug Emhoff paid a visit to the Chapman Partnership homeless facility on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

HUD awarded nearly $315 million in grants to 46 communities Thursday.

“Homelessness is a crisis, and it is solvable. Housing with supportive services solves homelessness. That’s why, for the first time the federal government is deploying targeted resources to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness in unsheltered settings or in rural areas,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “With these grants and vouchers, HUD is filling this gap and giving communities the resources and tools to improve housing and health outcomes for people on the streets, in encampments, under bridges, and in rural areas.”

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