The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that 327 local Florida agencies will receive $83 million to help their efforts to help the homeless.

Nationally, HUD says it will distribute a record $2 billion to more than 7,300 local homeless assistance programs. HUD’s Continuum of Care grants provide critical support to local programs that serve individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

HUD has posted a complete list of all the state and local homeless projects awarded funding, including the 327 in Florida that will receive money.

A few grants may yet be distributed. Due to the last year’s hurricanes, HUD extended the application deadline for communities in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands until February 16, 2018.

“HUD stands with our local partners who are working each and every day to house and serve our most vulnerable neighbors,” says HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “We know how to end homelessness and it starts with embracing a housing-first approach that relies upon proven strategies that offer permanent housing solutions to those who may otherwise be living in our shelters and on our streets.”

“Continuums of Care are critical leaders in the work to end homelessness nationwide, adds Matthew Doherty, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. “When communities marshal these and other local, state, private, and philanthropic resources behind the strongest housing-first practices, we see important progress in our collective goal to end homelessness in America.”

Last month, HUD reported that homelessness crept up in the U.S., especially among individuals experiencing long-term chronic homelessness.

HUD’s 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress found that 553,742 persons experienced homelessness on a single night in 2017, an increase of 0.7 percent since last year. Homelessness among families with children declined 5.4 percent nationwide since 2016, while local communities report that the number of persons experiencing long-term chronic homelessness and Veterans increased.

HUD’s 2017 homeless estimate points to a significant increase in the number of reported persons experiencing unsheltered homelessness, particularly in California and other high-cost rental markets experiencing a significant shortage of affordable housing.

Source: Florida Realtors®