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 awarded the City of Richmond, Virginia $383,727 under the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program on November 24, 2025, to support homeless services and rapid re-housing assistance. ESG funds support five program components: street outreach, emergency shelter operations, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing assistance, and Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) activities, plus administrative expenses. Recipients may use ESG funding to rehabilitate or convert buildings into emergency shelter, pay for operating expenses related to emergency shelters, provide essential services to shelter residents and unsheltered individuals, rapidly rehouse homeless individuals and families, and prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless. The award period runs through November 23, 2027, with place of performance in Richmond, VA 23219. As a formula grant, this allocation is not subject to appeal. Recipients expending $750,000 or more in federal awards annually are subject to single or program-specific audit under 2 CFR 200, Subpart F; recipients below that threshold are exempt unless they elect a program-specific audit. ESG recipients must establish and maintain records sufficient to demonstrate compliance with program requirements and retain all fiscal-year records for the greater of five years or the period specified under 24 CFR 576.500(y).

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.