$5.5B in Grants Allocated for Affordable Housing, Homelessness

The chronic housing shortage and staggering increase in home prices over the past decade have left many families struggling to afford rent or homeownership. Data show that about a quarter of renters—roughly 12 million households—are spending more than half of their income on housing costs, which far exceeds the recommended one-third threshold for financial health. As part of the Biden administration’s efforts to address the crisis, on Tuesday, May 7, Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a significant funding boost targeting affordable housing and homelessness, The Seattle Medium reports.

The funding is part of the White House Housing Supply Action Plan and the Blueprint for a Renter’s Bill of Rights and aims to alleviate the housing crisis by boosting the housing supply, lowering housing costs, expanding rental assistance, and enhancing renter protections.

The White House said the allocation of the $5.5 billion in grants would go through various HUD programs, including:

• $1.3 billion to 668 grantees to build affordable housing through the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME).
• $214 million to every state to increase affordable housing supply via the Housing Trust Fund (HTF).
• $3.3 billion to 1,254 grantees to build stronger communities through the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).
• $455 million to 130 grantees to connect people with HIV/AIDS to housing and support through the Housing Opportunities for Persons With HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) program.
• $290 million to 357 grantees to address homelessness through Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG).
• $30 million to 23 States and the District of Columbia to support recovery from substance use disorder via the Recovery Housing Program (RHP).

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