Senator Murray Announces Over $9 Million in Federal Awards to Address Rural and Unsheltered Homelessness

ICYMI: Senator Murray Announces Major Funding for Washington State Housing Priorities in End-of-Year Package – MORE HERE

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced over $9.1 million in federal awards from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to address homelessness in rural communities and unsheltered settings across Washington state. The funding comes from a Special Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program, which provides grants to nonprofit providers, as well as state and local governments, to connect people and families to housing, health care, and supportive services. Senator Murray recently secured $3.63 billion—a $420 million increase—for Homeless Assistance Grants in the end-of-year spending package to support CoC services and housing interventions at the local level, and to expand assistance to survivors of domestic violence and youth experiencing homelessness.

“So many families across our state are struggling to find affordable housing and keep a roof over their head, and this crisis is no less prevalent in rural communities,” said Senator Murray. “We have to tackle the housing crisis from every angle—and that’s why I’m so committed to making sure we make federal investments in our communities to ensure no one is left behind, no matter where they live. I’m glad I could help secure these federal dollars to provide rural families and people in unsheltered settings in Washington state with critical support so they can find housing they can afford and count on. Investments like these go a long way in making sure housing relief reaches families who need it, and I’ll be fighting to deliver more support to help keep people safe, secure, and housed.”

Senator Murray has long fought for federal investments in housing to help families in Washington state and across the country be able to keep a roof over their head. She helped secure $72.1 billion in discretionary spending for HUD in the end-of-year spending package, a $6.5 billion increase above fiscal year 2022. This funding includes $1.5 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which will lead to the construction of nearly 10,000 new rental and homebuyer units nationwide, and $225 million for a new preservation and reinvestment initiative that will support manufactured housing communities and residents. Senator Murray also pushed to secure $130 million for incremental vouchers to support an additional 11,700 households which includes: $50 million in additional vouchers for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program; $50 million in new funding to expand affordable housing opportunities to people with low incomes (including families, people experiencing homelessness, and survivors of domestic violence); and $30 million in additional family unification vouchers. Additionally, Senator Murray worked to secure $13.9 billion for project-based rental assistance contracts and an additional $969 million in emergency funding—which is sufficient to renew all existing contracts and will support over 16,000 Washington state families.

Senator Murray also fought hard when passing the American Rescue Plan to secure more than $400 million in rental assistance, $170 million in homeowner assistance, over 2,400 new Emergency Housing Vouchers, and nearly $100 million for housing and services to support people experiencing homelessness in Washington state. These federal investments resulted in the largest eviction prevention effort in history.

Below is a list of Washington state recipients awarded CoC funding:

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