Cecil County, MD – The Cecil County Health Department, as the local administrative agency for Cecil County within the Balance of State Continuum of Care (MD-514), has announced the receipt of $327,513 in Homelessness Solutions Program (HSP) funding for the fiscal year 2024. The grant, administered by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Division of Neighborhood Revitalization, provides a consolidated stream of funding for local Continuums of Care (CoCs) to address homelessness in the community.

The HSP funding aims to provide emergency shelter and rental assistance payments to households experiencing homelessness or those at risk of becoming homeless. The program strives to reduce the number of individuals and families who become homeless, shorten the length of time an individual or household is homeless, and reduce the number of individuals and households that return to homelessness.

The Cecil County Health Department will serve as the pass-through agency, oversee the local application process, and ongoing programmatic and fiscal oversight. A subcommittee of the Local Homelessness Coalition will carry out funding decisions and management.

Activities eligible for funding under HSP include emergency shelter, street outreach, homelessness prevention, and rapid rehousing. Eligible sub-grantees may be government agencies or nonprofit organizations, provided they demonstrate collaboration with local homelessness provider groups and local mainstream service providers and comply with program guidelines and any applicable state and federal policies and procedures.

The period of the grant year will be from July 1, 2023, to December 30, 2024, with a 25% fiscal match requirement. The population served with this funding must meet HUD income guidelines and definitions of “homeless” or “at risk of homelessness” indicated by the grant source.

Applications for HSP funding should be submitted electronically by April 2oth, 2023, via email to Gwen Parrack, Director of Special Populations Services at the Cecil County Health Department.

The HSP funding announcement represents a significant step forward in addressing homelessness in Cecil County. The Cecil County Health Department and Local Homelessness Coalition look forward to working with eligible sub-grantees to support this vital effort.

Contact:

Gwen Parrack

Director, Special Populations Services

Cecil County Health Department

Ph: 443-245-3834

Email: [email protected]