HUD Highlights KY BoS and Public Housing Authorities
FRANKFORT, Kentucky — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently recognized the work being done by the Kentucky Balance of State Continuum of Care (KY BoS CoC) and Kentucky Housing Corporation’s (KHC) Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) team.
The KY BoS was awarded $11.4 million from HUD through a CoC Special Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the purpose of addressing unsheltered and rural homelessness with hundreds of new housing units, vital supportive services, and street outreach. The KY BoS will prioritize projects in areas for which CoC funds have been historically unavailable. As such, the recent funding will allow the KY BoS to expand and build capacity of its homeless response system infrastructure and interventions, providing services and resources to those it has never been able to to reach before.
“We are beyond grateful for HUD’s recognition of our Continuum of Care partners’ tireless efforts, compassion and dedication to address and end unsheltered and rural homelessness in the KY Balance of State,” said Kenzie Strubank, assistant director of Homeless Programs at KHC. “These funds will fill historic service and permanent housing gaps in our most rural areas of need, providing unprecedented access to housing for those with severe service needs and those living outdoors. This is a monumental achievement in the KY BoS, and we thank our partners for their relentless work to support and serve our most vulnerable community members.”
In addition, HUD announced the allocation of specialized HCV Stability Vouchers to selected Public Housing Authorities (PHA) across the nation in tandem with the Special NOFO announcement. A first-of-its-kind HUD coordinated package, these Special NOFO funds and Stability Vouchers will target historically underserved individuals and families experiencing unsheltered and rural homelessness, among other subpopulations. Selected Kentucky PHAs awarded Stability Vouchers were: KHC (25), the Housing Authority of Henderson (5), Boone County Fiscal Court (5), and Bowling Green Community Development Agency (5).
“KHC’s HCV team is looking forward to working with CoC partners to house one of the most vulnerable populations in the most rural areas of the Commonwealth,” said Marti Mainous Chilcoat, housing policy analyst at KHC. She called this “a great achievement” for HCV and the KY BoS.
