(Honolulu, HI) - Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) today announced a federal award of $850,000 to help the state combat homelessness in Hawaii’s disabled community.
“The challenge of homelessness is recognized by all of us on the federal, state, local and community level, and we must continue to work together to help those who need a helping hand – in this case, disabled individuals who are homeless,” said Case.
The housing assistance announced today was provided through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Section 811 Mainstream Housing Choice Voucher Program, which provides funding to housing agencies to assist non-elderly persons with disabilities.
It focuses on individuals who are transitioning out of institutional or other separated settings; at serious risk of institutionalization; homeless; or at risk of becoming homeless. Congress provided these funds through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141), which set aside $505 million for HUD’s Mainstream Housing Choice Voucher Program to provide sustained community-based integrated housing opportunities to non-elderly persons with disabilities.
These federal funds will go to the State of Hawai‘i’s Public Housing Authority. Case said the funds can play a critical role in Hawai‘i by providing new vouchers to help disabled individuals seeking to move into safe housing.
In its 2019 Homeless Point-In-Time Count Comprehensive Report last May, the Partners in Care coalition identified 4,453 sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on Oahu.
