Email from Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness

Hello colleagues,

We are writing to let you know that the status remains uncertain for the FY25 Continuum of Care grant opportunity. In response to a preliminary court ruling, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that if the ruling becomes final, it will return to year two of what was supposed to be a two-year grant cycle all along.

That means if the ruling holds, we anticipate the current local projects will be funded for a second year and that the next grant cycle will be competitive.

Current Anchorage Continuum of Care grantees with projected FY25 amounts:

Grantee Name	Project	Type	Housing Units	FY25 Amounts
Anchorage Housing Initiatives	Coming Home I	Permanent Supportive Housing, single adults	15	$161,868
RurAL CAP	325 E. 3rd Ave.	Permanent Supportive Housing, single adults	20	$115,428
NeighborWorks Alaska	Resources & Initiatives to Support & Empower (RISE)	Permanent Supportive Housing, single adults & families	45	$959,403
NeighborWorks Alaska	Sponsor-based Rental Assistance (SRA)	Permanent Supportive Housing, single adults & families	41	$615,558
NeighborWorks Alaska	Empowering New Hope	Rapid Rehousing, DV survivors	14	$372,296
NeighborWorks Alaska	Roots 2 Rise	Permanent Supportive Housing, transition-age youth	25	$848,303
NeighborWorks Alaska	Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project	Permanent Supportive Housing, transition-age youth	8	$201,631
Covenant House Alaska	Permanency Navigators for Youth	Supportive Services Only, transition-age youth	0	$313,650
Covenant House Alaska	Rapid Rehousing for Youth	Rapid Rehousing, transition-age youth	13	$281,138
Covenant House Alaska	Rights of Passage	Transitional and Rapid Rehousing, transition-age youth	7	$129,765
Institute for Community Alliances	Anchorage Homeless Management Information System	HMIS	0	$183,594
Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness	Coordinated Entry	Supportive Services Only	0	$81,480
Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness	Continuum of Care Compliance and Support	Planning	0	$209,942

In its response to the Dec. 23 federal injunction, HUD has specified that if it becomes final, FY24 local grantees that want to renew their projects will not be required to reapply for FY25 funds unless the local Continuum of Care chooses to reallocate dollars. All Anchorage projects funded for FY24 want to be renewed, and none of the money is being reallocated. In Anchorage, these grants help to pay for permanent housing, permanency navigators, data management, and management of the Coordinated Entry program housing needs assessment program.

As shown above, current Anchorage Continuum of Care grantees are: Anchorage Housing Initiatives, RurAL CAP, NeighborWorks Alaska, Covenant House Alaska, Institute for Community Alliances and the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness.

This Continuum of Care grant opportunity has taken a few twists and turns. HUD originally sought to make more of the funds competitive and to redirect grants away from permanent housing and into transitional housing and supports. Advocates feared that as many as 170,000 people around the country would be displaced and could end up homeless and took their concerns to court. The preliminary court ruling blocked HUD from canceling the FY24/FY25 two-year grant opportunity and from two iterations of a new FY25 Notice of Funding Opportunity that could result in housing instability. The legal case is on-going.

The CoC program is the nation's largest source of federal funding for homelessness assistance. These dollars support some 87% of permanent housing for those emerging from homelessness.

The Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness is the HUD-designated lead agency for the Continuum of Care. One of our roles is to guide and support the CoC grant process.

We anticipate a return to a competitive grant process in FY26 that will provide opportunity for new grantees. We will keep our community informed.

Thank you for all you do,

The team at the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness

[email protected]

907-312-9530