Resources for Funding

Funded under the McKinney Vento Act as amended by the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009, this grant combines Emergency Shelter, Street Outreach, Homelessness Prevention, and Rapid Re-housing activities under one umbrella. It is designed to assist individuals and families quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis of homelessness. It provides essential street outreach and emergency shelter services as well as emphasizes homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing assistance. The program requirements facilitate coordination at the state and local levels to utilize all available services, consult closely with the jurisdiction’s Continuums of Care, and evaluate progress in accordance with a comprehensive homeless strategy and annual action plan.

The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; promote access to and effect utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

The PATH program was authorized by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1990 and is administered by the PA Department of Human Services , who receives funding from the Center for Mental Health Services, a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), one of eight Public Health Service agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. PATH services are for people with serious mental illness, including those with co-occurring substance use disorders, who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. PATH services include community-based outreach, mental health, substance abuse, case management and other support services, as well as a limited set of housing services.

HAP is a county-directed program that offers a variety of supportive services to individuals and families experiencing or at risk for homelessness and who can demonstrate that, with HAP intervention, they will be able to meet their basic housing needs in the near future. HAP includes five components: bridge housing, case management, rental assistance, emergency shelter, and innovative supportive housing.

A program funded by the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) and administered locally by Homeless Service Providers. The VA aims to improve very low-income Veteran families’ housing stability. Grantees (private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives) will provide eligible Veteran families with outreach, case management, and assistance in obtaining VA and other benefits, as well as providing time-limited payments to third parties (e.g., landlords, utility companies, moving A program funded by the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) and administered locally by Homeless Service Providers. The VA aims to improve very low-income Veteran families’ housing stability. Grantees (private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives) will provide eligible Veteran families with outreach, case management, and assistance in obtaining VA and other benefits, as well as providing time-limited payments to third parties (e.g., landlords, utility companies, moving companies, and licensed child care providers) if these payments help Veterans’ families stay in or acquire permanent housing on a sustainable basis.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance for homeless veterans and their families with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at its medical centers and in the community. These vouchers are administered by Pennsylvania Housing Authorities.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health receives an annual grant from Housing and Urban Development to administer the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program. Through HOPWA funding, six of the seven Regional Grantees provide rental assistance, short term mortgage payments and other housing-related services for people infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS.