Ottawa County will receive $1.1 million in funds to address homelessness

This month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced awards of more than $2 billion for approximately 5,800 homelessness programs across the U.S. and its territories. These Continuum of Care (CoC) grants will help to end homelessness and provide critically needed support to local programs on the front lines of serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

Ottawa County has been awarded more than $1.1 million dollars in funding for homeless services including rapid re-housing, permanent supportive housing and planning. New this year is a grant dedicated to increasing services to victims of domestic violence. “These bonus dollars were awarded based on the strength of the service provider, Center for Women in Transition, and the strength of the local collaboration which is reflected in the application submitted to HUD,” said Lyn Raymond, Director of Greater Ottawa County United Way’s Lakeshore Housing Alliance program.

The mission of the Lakeshore Housing Alliance (LHA) is to identify needs, create collaborative responses and ensure safe, accessible, affordable housing is available to all. The Lakeshore Housing Alliance is responsible for compiling information for the CoC program collaborative application, which reports on the community’s progress in ending homelessness.