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 $1,160,227 to Allegheny County on September 19, 2025, under the Emergency Solutions Grant Program (CFDA 14.231).

The award funds ESG's five program components: street outreach for homeless individuals and families living unsheltered; emergency shelter rehabilitation, conversion, and operation; essential services to shelter residents; homelessness prevention assistance; and rapid re-housing support to move homeless households into permanent housing. Funds may also support Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) infrastructure and administrative activities. Eligible uses include rehabilitating or converting buildings for emergency shelter, paying operating expenses, providing essential services, and delivering housing relocation and stabilization services with rental assistance to achieve housing stability.

Allegheny County's Executive Office, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, serves as the recipient. The award period runs from September 19, 2025, through September 18, 2027. ESG is a formula grant providing allocations to states, units of general-purpose local government, and territories based on statutory criteria. Recipients incorporate proposed ESG projects into their Consolidated Plans, which HUD reviews under 24 CFR 91 standards before approval and grant execution. The program aims to help individuals and families quickly regain permanent housing stability after homelessness or housing crisis by engaging street-level populations, improving shelter capacity and quality, and rapidly transitioning households to permanent housing with supportive services.

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.