Baltimore City is partnering with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) for an initiative entitled “House America: An All-Hands-On-Deck Effort to Address the Nation’s Homelessness Crisis.”
House America will use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to promote a Housing First approach, immediately rehousing and creating a pipeline to build additional housing for people experiencing homelessness. For the 2022 calendar year, the City has set a goal to rehouse at least 1,000 households experiencing homelessness and add at least 1,605 new affordable housing units, including 597 deeply affordable units, into the development pipeline. To date, the City has rehoused 454 households.
Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott discussed how the initiative will address one of the core hurdles facing the City’s homeless population in a press release:
“At the core of House America is collaboration and multiple City agencies have joined Federal partners to meet the needs of our neighbors experiencing homelessness,” said Mayor Scott. “Nationwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the challenges that our neighbors face, including an adequate supply of housing for people exiting homelessness. Baltimore’s House America goals move forward the progress of the third pillar of my Action Plan – Clean & Healthy Communities – and we will reach the goals by using the data-driven approach to rehousing developed during the pandemic and including community stakeholders in the process.”
Baltimore City’s Leadership Committee on Homelessness and Housing will guide the strategic plan to help the City achieve its House America goals. The committee includes homeless services and housing providers, philanthropy, city departments, people with lived experience of homelessness, and representatives from hospitals, behavioral health, academia, and public safety.
Additional information regarding House America can be found here.
