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 Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development awarded the City of Rochester $720,774 under the Emergency Solutions Grant Program (CFDA 14.231) on September 25, 2025.

The ESG program funds five components: street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing assistance, and homeless management information system (HMIS) operations. Recipients may also use funds for administrative activities. Under this award, Rochester will deploy ESG resources to engage homeless individuals and families living on the street, rehabilitate or convert buildings for use as emergency shelter, operate emergency shelters, provide essential services to shelter residents, and assist homeless individuals and families to rapidly regain permanent housing stability through re-housing and prevention services.

The award runs through September 24, 2027, with place of performance in Rochester, New York. As a formula grant, this allocation reflects Rochester's eligible status under 24 CFR 576.2 as a metropolitan city. Recipients must establish and maintain records sufficient to verify compliance with ESG requirements and retain all records for the greater of five years or the period specified under 24 CFR 576.500(y). Entities expending $750,000 or more in federal awards annually are subject to single or program-specific audit under 2 CFR 200, Subpart F.

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.