State Collects $228 Million in Federal Grants for Homeless

California on Tuesday was awarded more than $228 million in federal grants to provide emergency shelter, permanent housing and other services for the homeless, a 15% increase over 2004 and the largest ever statewide allocation of funds aimed at ending long-term homelessness.

The money will be distributed to 625 service agencies throughout the state, where about 360,000 people are homeless at any given time.

“This is a great day for California, and this is a great day for the crusade to end homelessness,” said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made the announcement in Los Angeles with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson.

“This money is going directly to the front lines, straight to the extraordinary people in the trenches running the programs that are lifting the hearts of the homeless every day,” he added.

Last year, the federal government allotted $1.2 billion nationwide for the homeless.

“At a time of war, [President Bush] is still keeping his commitment to his urban agenda and his commitment to end chronic homelessness by 2010,” Jackson said.

Highlights of the California grants include:

* $92 million for permanent housing programs.

* $61.4 million for programs that help homeless people with substance abuse problems.

* $27 million to provide child care, job training and support services for mothers and children.

* $13.7 million for victims of domestic violence.

* $6.6 million for programs aimed at homeless veterans.

The funds are part of $1.4 billion in federal grants being distributed nationally to more than 4,400 homeless programs, including nearly 700 faith-based organizations. Los Angeles County, with an estimated 80,000 homeless people, will receive nearly $60 million for transitional housing and emergency shelter services.

Other local grants include $11.3 million for Orange County, $7.7 million for San Bernardino County and $6.9 million for Riverside County.

Those who provide services to the homeless applauded the grants but said much more is needed.

“For the community in general, I hope this is a down payment to encourage other sectors of society to give, whether it’s corporations, the state or religious groups,” said Joel John Roberts, executive director of People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), which hosted Tuesday’s event.

Alicia Harbor, 21, has been receiving counseling, employment and education training at PATH after fleeing a pimp and living on the streets. She attended the ceremonies and said the money would help women like her.

“There are girls my age who will turn to [prostitution] to keep a place to stay,” Harbor said. “But now there are places like PATH where they can find help or a place to lay their head. I hope the money today means more services.”

The announcement comes as Los Angeles and other California cities and counties are tallying their homeless residents in a national project to better assess the problem. Street counts being conducted this week will be used to determine next year’s funding levels.

While emergency shelter grants are given to cities and counties based on a formula, federal Continuum of Care grants for housing and other services are awarded competitively based on individual applications. This year’s record grant to California reflected an improvement in finding more holistic, results-oriented approaches toward ending homelessness, HUD officials said.

Calling himself the “Collectinator,” Schwarzenegger touted the grant as a demonstration of his pledge to get more of California’s “fair share” of money from the federal government.

“I am happy Secretary Jackson came out to California himself,” Schwarzenegger joked.

“I hope you come out to California many more times, especially when you bring checks,” he told Jackson. “I hope you make California your second home.”