HUD Awards $10 Million for Housing for Alcoholics

A new demonstration program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing $10 million in funding for projects in 11 cities that are working to help alcoholics who are living on the street obtain permanent housing.

The two-year grants are being distributed through HUD’s new “Housing for People Who Are Homeless and Addicted to Alcohol� initiative, which was developed in close consultation with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

As many as 150,000 homeless Americans often suffer from addiction to alcohol and tend to have the highest utilization rates of public facilities and services, research has found.

“As we continue to work toward ending chronic homelessness, there is no better place to devote our energies than to offer a helping hand to those who are the hardest to help,� said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson.

“We must continue to seek creative solutions to house and serve those in the grips of alcoholism who perpetually call the streets or emergency shelters their home,� Jackson said.

The communities designated to receive the grants are: Chattanooga, Tenn.; Chicago; Contra Costa, Calif.; Denver; Jacksonville, Fla.; New York; San Francisco; San Jose, Santa Cruz and Santa Monica, Calif.; and Washington, D.C.

What about homeless Crack addicts?

Sounds like discrimination to me....

I live in Santa Monica and honestly the situation is out of control. The homeless population here is incredibly high as the city is one of the few that feeds and shelters them. My wife and I, once we had our daughter, moved from our beach home because of the number of homeless that sleep near the beach and commit violent crimes. Hopefully this helps some of them get back on their feet!!