The City of Texarkana, Texas, has been awarded $449,786 in homelessness assistance funding from the U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development.
The grant was received as a part of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Emergency Solutions Grant Program, which aims to provide necessary services to help persons at-risk of homelessness or currently homeless quickly regain stability in permanent housing.
Randy Sams' Outreach Shelter and the Ark-Tex Council of Governments as members of the Texarkana Homeless Coalition applied for the program with the City of Texarkana, Texas.
"The expanded ability to serve, paired with the services offered from partner agencies, will make all the difference for so many seeking assistance. This funding will mean the difference between homelessness and remaining housed, finding shelter and obtaining housing for some. This funding will truly continue to make a world of difference in our community," Executive Director of Randy Sams' Outreach Shelter and Texarkana Homeless Coalition Homeless Count Committee Chair Jennifer Laurent said.
April Carl, Regional Development Coordinator with the Ark-Tex Council of Governments, emphasized the importance of a coordinated community response to homelessness in the Northeast Texas Region.
"At the state and national level, added emphasis is being given towards working together efficiently with limited resources," Carl said. "Homelessness is too complex, and those currently without basic needs met are too valuable, for our service providers to not do everything possible to work together."
"This grant is another key piece of the efforts of the Homeless Coalition to work together through a coordinated entry system to address homeless issues in a comprehensive way," Neighborhood Services Manager for the City of Texarkana, Texas, Zee Carroll said.
For more information, contact David Orr at [email protected] or 903-798-3902.