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's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development awarded $197,583 to County of Northampton on September 22, 2025, under the Emergency Solutions Grant Program (CFDA 14.231).

County of Northampton, a local government entity based in Easton, Pennsylvania, will deploy ESG funds across five program components: street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing assistance, and homeless management information systems. The county may also use funds for administrative activities. The award supports activities to engage homeless individuals and families living on the street, improve emergency shelter capacity and quality, support shelter operations, provide essential services to shelter residents, and work to rehouse homeless individuals and families while preventing housing crises from leading to homelessness.

Performance period runs from September 22, 2025, through September 21, 2027. Place of performance is College Hill, Pennsylvania. County of Northampton has received approximately $386,000 in cumulative ESG funding historically and serves as a formula grant recipient for multiple HUD housing programs, including HOME Investment Partnerships Program awards totaling over $1.3 million and Community Development Block Grants supporting viable urban communities and economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income persons.

This is a formula grant, an assistance type that allocates funds to eligible metropolitan cities, urban counties, territories, and states according to statutory distribution methodology.

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.