Activities supported by McKinney Act funds have provided a wide range of homeless assistance, including emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing, as well as an array of supportive services. This assistance has yielded measurable results toward alleviating homelessness. Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) recipients served approximately 2.8 million individuals and over 1 million families in FY 1991. Seventy percent of residents who graduated from transitional housing programs funded by HUD's Supportive Housing Demonstration Program entered into other stable housing arrangements; the percentage of assisted families employed or in training doubled.
Many grantees used their McKinney funds to implement comprehensive, coordinated approaches to ending homelessness. However, such efforts have been complicated by differences in target populations, eligible applicants and activities, and funding systems and criteria among the various programs, as well as by confusing timeframes and regulations. Grantees took full advantage of the opportunities for flexibility afforded by some McKinney programs to design creative assistance strategies. In this respect, the block grant structure of ESG worked well, allowing grantees maximum flexibility.
The study found that the most positive outcomes were achieved by projects that built comprehensive care systems through a consolidated approach designed to foster coordination of services. Successful programs also:
Many of the conclusions presented in this study are reflected in the Administration's proposal to consolidate and simplify HUD's homeless assistance programs. Review of Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Programs Administered by HUD is important reading for anyone interested in the present status and future direction of Federal efforts to end homelessness. It is available from HUD USER for $4. Please contact HUD USER to obtain print copies.