DES MOINES — The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors recently approved more than $4.8 million in grants to assist 47 agencies with homelessness assistance initiatives during the 2022 calendar year.
The Muscatine Center for Social Action in Muscatine County was awarded a $72,012 Emergency Solutions Grant Award, and a $62,363 Shelter Assistance Fund Grant Award.
“The homelessness assistance awards announced today will have a direct impact in helping thousands of Iowans in their time of need,” said Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Debi Durham. “Iowa’s homeless service professionals work tirelessly to help get Iowans back on their feet and into permanent housing and this funding will aid in those efforts.”
Individuals in need of homelessness assistance should call the coordinated entry system: 833-739-0065.
The funding is made available through the federal Emergency Solutions Grant program and the state-funded Shelter Assistance Fund. The Iowa Finance Authority conducted a combined competition for the two programs and applications were scored in several categories, including project design, experience and capacity, community partnerships, performance, budget and grants management.
The primary purpose of the Federal Emergency Solutions Grant program is to help Iowans and their families quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness. Examples of eligible services include rental and other emergency financial assistance, street outreach, case management and supportive services. The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and by the Iowa Finance Authority in Iowa. Twenty-seven agencies were awarded a total of more than $2.7 million in 2022 Emergency Solutions Grant Program funds.
The State-funded Shelter Assistance Fund program provides assistance to help with the costs of operations of homeless and domestic violence shelters, essential services for the homeless and evaluation and reporting services. Thirty-five agencies were awarded a total of more than $2.1 million in 2022 Shelter Assistance Fund grants.
Agencies were eligible to apply for up to $150,000 in shelter assistance, depending on their available shelter beds and shelter bed nights provided in the past two years and up to $50,000 in street outreach assistance. Agencies were also eligible to apply for funding to provide rapid re-housing and/or homelessness prevention on a regional basis, through a network of 17 coordinated services/coordinated entry regions for homelessness services across the state. Eligible regional amounts were determined based on needs and historical predictors of homelessness in each county.