The rapid unsheltered survivor housing (rush) program will be used to fill a GAP in federal disaster assistance for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness

The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the City of Jacksonville, Florida $132,902 under the Rapid Unsheltered Survivor Housing (RUSH) program on July 29, 2026. RUSH is a formula grant under the Emergency Solutions Grant Program (CFDA 14.231) that addresses gaps in federal disaster assistance for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in communities affected by natural disasters where FEMA's Transitional Shelter Assistance has been activated.

Eligible activities funded through this award include emergency shelter operations; rapid re-housing providing up to 24 months of rental assistance, move-in cost support, and supportive services for people currently experiencing homelessness; homelessness prevention offering up to 24 months of rental assistance, utility assistance, and supportive services for people at risk of homelessness; and outreach assistance including support for urgent needs of unsheltered persons. The program targets people experiencing homelessness in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or places not meant for human habitation, and people at risk of homelessness with household income below 30 percent of area median income who face eviction within 21 days, severe overcrowding, or other homelessness risk factors.

Performance occurs in Jacksonville, Florida. The award period runs from July 29, 2026 through July 28, 2028.

Activities

Eligible rush activities including (1) emergency shelter; (2) rapid RE-housing, which provides up to 24 months of rental assistance, financial assistance for move in costs, and supportive services for people currently experiencing homelessness; (3) homelessness prevention, which provides up to 24 months of rental assistance, utility assistance, and supportive services for people at risk of homelessness; and (4) outreach assistance, including assistance to meet urgent needs, for people who are unsheltered. HUD determines if a community meets the criteria for rush funding and reaches out to authorized officials in that community

Expected outcomes

Rush fills a GAP in federal assistance that often occurs during a disaster. Rush gives communities much-needed resources to provide long-term housing solutions for people experiencing pre-disaster homelessness and to prevent long-term homelessness among newly-displaced people

Intended beneficiaries

Once a community is determined eligible for rush funding, eligible recipients of rush funds are the same as the special needs assistance programs (snaps) emergency solutions grants (ESG) program. Eligible recipients generally consist of metropolitan cities, urban counties, territories, and states, as defined in 24 CFR 576.2. Clients served by these recipients in impacted disaster areas are the intended beneficiaries of rush funds. Snaps has set forth minimum threshold requirements for rush allocations. These include: - ESG area includes a declared disaster area - the ESG area has a high level of homelessness demonstrated by the point in time count - high level of displacement as evidenced by transitional sheltering assistance (TSA) or non congregational shelter (BCS) activation by FEMA

Subrecipient activities

The subrecipient activities are unknown at the time of award