U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced the Obama Administration is awarding $38,258,789 in grants to Washington state organizations to offer homeless individuals and families a wide range of housing and support services. Last year, HUD awarded $36.7 million to organizations in Washington.

This year, some 170 groups that are part of Continuum of Care organizations of homeless providers in the Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Yakima, Everett and Vancouver areas and, to serve rural areas, the State of Washington will receive a total of almost $35.6 million to support a variety of supportive housing programs. In addition, almost $2.7 million in Emergency Shelter Grants will go to the State, Seattle, Spokane and Tacoma and King, Pierce and Snohomish counties for emergency needs.

“With the foreclosure and unemployment crisis looming, millions of families – both homeowners and renters – are in danger of losing their homes so we must focus substantial resources to help those families find stable housing,” said Donovan. “The grants being awarded today, along with the recovery plan’s additional $1.5 billion, will offer a critical lifeline to those persons and families who, after a foreclosure or job loss, might otherwise be faced with homelessness. Today we are announcing an unprecedented commitment to fund programs that have a proven track record of providing real housing solutions for our most vulnerable neighbors.”

Included in today’s announcement, HUD is awarding $24 million to create new pilot programs in 23 local communities to rapidly re-house homeless families with children, including a $656.639 grant to the State of Washington’s Northwest Rapid Re-Housing Partnership. These local pilot programs will become the basis of a significantly expanded $1.5 billion effort to offer quick housing assistance to homeless families and to prevent homelessness among those facing a sudden economic crisis.