Mount Vernon Awarded $1.3M Pandemic Grant For The Homeless

MOUNT VERNON, NY — Mount Vernon will receive $1.3 million from a federal grant program for dealing with homelessness because of the new coronavirus pandemic.

Communities in New York State received a total of $400 million. Only four of 19 are in the Hudson Valley where, in addition to Mount Vernon, Yonkers received $2,952,400, Orange County received $1,343,670 and Westchester received $4,169,699.

The money is part of a nationwide allocation of $2.96 billion in Emergency Solutions Grants funding to support homeless Americans and individuals at risk of becoming homeless because of hardships such as job loss, wage reduction, or illness due to COVID-19.

"As we continued to monitor the effects of COVID-19 in at risk communities, the Department and our partners worked quickly to respond to outbreaks and minimize the spread from hotspots to other locations," Secretary Ben Carson said in a news release. "This increased funding to help provide for our homeless will make a difference now as we combat the coronavirus and inform long-term, innovative solutions for addressing homelessness in the future."

The funding can be used for:

• Make more emergency shelters available for homeless individuals and families.
• Operate emergency shelters by providing food, rent, security, maintenance, repair, fuel, equipment, insurance, utilities, furnishings, and supplies necessary for their operation.
• Provide Hotel/Motel Vouchers for homeless families and individuals.
• Provide essential services to people experiencing homelessness including childcare, education services, employment assistance, outpatient health services, legal services, mental health services, substance abuse treatment services, and transportation.
• Prevent individuals from becoming homeless and rapidly rehouse homeless individuals.