The emergency solutions grant (ESG) authorizes the department of housing and urban development (HUD) to make grants to states, units of general-purpose local government, and territories for the…

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded a $149,531 Emergency Solutions Grant (CFDA 14.231) to the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority (VIHFA) on November 27, 2024. This formula grant funds activities to assist individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness across the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The grant enables VIHFA to deliver a range of homeless assistance services, including street outreach, emergency shelter operations, homelessness prevention, and rapid re-housing. Specifically, the funding will support the rehabilitation or conversion of emergency shelters, cover shelter operating expenses, provide essential services to shelter residents, and help quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families to regain housing stability. As a local government entity, VIHFA has a proven track record of executing HUD grants to address critical housing and community development needs in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Activities

ESG funds may be used for five program components: street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid RE-housing assistance, and homeless management information system (HMIS). Funds can also be used for administrative activities. The five program components and the eligible activities that may be funded under each are set forth in 24 code of federal regulations (CFR) 576.101 through 576.107.

Expected outcomes

With ESG program funding, communities can engage homeless individuals and families living on the street, improve the number and quality of emergency shelters for homeless individuals/families, support the operation of emergency shelters, provide essential services to shelter residents, rapidly work to rehouse homeless individuals and families and prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless.

Intended beneficiaries

Eligible recipients of the ESG funds generally consist of metropolitan cities, urban counties, territories, and states, as defined in 24 CFR 576.2. The minimum eligibility criteria for ESG beneficiaries are as follows: for essential services related to street outreach, beneficiaries must meet the criteria under paragraph (1) (I) of the "homeless" definition under 576.2. For emergency shelter, beneficiaries must meet the "homeless" definition in 24 CFR 576.2. For essential services related to emergency shelter, beneficiaries must be "homeless" and staying in an emergency shelter (which could include a day shelter). For homelessness prevention assistance, beneficiaries must meet the requirements described in 24 CFR 576.103PAR. For rapid RE-housing assistance, beneficiaries must meet requirements described in 24 CFR 576.104. Further eligibility criteria may be established at the local level in accordance with 24 CFR 576.400(E).

Subrecipient activities

The subrecipient activities are unknown at the time of award.