Passed by Congress in March, the CARES Act provides $2 trillion in funding to help municipalities and sectors respond to the coronavirus pandemic. This funding allocated $12 billion in funding for the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as well as additional funds for the Federal Emergency Management Foundation (FEMA), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and local and state governments.
As funding is released, we will track the announcements and information on this page.
June 9, 2020: HUD Releases Remaining CARES Act Funding for Emergency Solutions Grants
On June 9, 2020, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it released the remaining $2.96 billion in Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) funding provided through the CARES Act.
For this round of funding, HUD developed a new formula to disseminate these awards, taking into account populations currently experiencing and at-risk of homelessness in a given community, including:
- Total Homeless Population
- Unsheltered Homeless Population
- Total Very Low Income (VLI) Renters
- VLI Renters that are Overcrowded or without a Kitchen or Plumbing
Additional information about HUD’s formula methodology for this second allocation is available on HUD.gov. The first allocation of $1 billion was based on HUD’s FY 2020 formula allocation.
HUD will immediately begin sending award letters to program participants who are receiving this funding.
May 18, 2020: HUD Releases Fourth Wave of CARES Act Funding to Assist People With Disabilities
On May 18, 2020, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the release of a fourth round of CARES Act funding, this time targeted to providing affordable housing to non-elderly people living with disabilities. This wave of funding, totaling $75 million, will be allocated through HUD’s Section 811 Mainstream Housing Choice Voucher program, and is expected to support the use of up to 8,300 additional vouchers
This funding, made available through direct grants to local housing authorities, is intended to further the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act by helping persons with disabilities live in community-based settings. The program also encourages partnerships with health and human service agencies to enable individuals to live independently in community.
Read more about the funding made available through vouchers.
May 11, 2020: HUD Releases Third Wave of CARES Act Funding to Boost State & Insular Area Response
On May 11, 2020, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the release of a third round of CARES Act funding, this time targeted to states and insular areas. This wave of funding, totaling $1 billion, will be allocated through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, bringing total CARES allocations through the CDBG program to $3 billion.
Grantees may select from more than 25 eligible activities to meet their needs, including:
- A wide range of public services to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, such as providing services for low-income elderly persons and children;
- Small business assistance or emergency housing payments for businesses and families impacted by economic and housing market disruptions; or
- Acquisition and rehabilitation of structures for health facilities, food banks, or public improvements needed to support community coronavirus response, preparation, or prevention.
The allocation formula for this round of funding uses data on low-income elderly and children to target funding to places with higher public health risk while also using recent unemployment insurance claims data to provide for states hardest hit, at the time of the allocation, by unemployment. All of the factors are adjusted so that places with higher than the national average in COVID-19 cases receive a slightly higher share of funding.
Read more about the funding and the allocation amounts distributed to grantees.
May 1, 2020: HUD Releases Second Wave of CARES Act Funding
On May 1, 2020, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it is releasing a second round of CARES Act funding for residents of public housing. HUD will allocate $685 million to public housing authorities (PHA) across the country through the Public Housing Operating Fund.
Public housing authorities can use these funds to prepare, prevent, and respond to a coronavirus outbreak for their tenants and communities.
Read more about the funding and the allocation amounts distributed to PHAs.
April 15, 2020: Treasury Department Releases Coronavirus Relief Funds to States and Cities
On April 15, the Treasury Department distributed the $150 billion of Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to states and cities over 500,000 people. These municipalities can use these funds for expenses incurred because of the coronavirus epidemic between March 1 and December 31, 2020.
Read more about how the CRF is distributed.
April 2, 2020: HUD Announces First Wave of CARES Act Funding
On April 2, 2020, the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) distributed the first round of CARES Act funding, $3 billion to states and local governments through the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) programs.
The ESG funding is available to Continuum of Care (CoC) programs through their ESG agencies. We encourage CoCs to reach out to their lead agency to inquire about the funds and disbursement. Here is our breakdown of the funding by CoC.
Read more about HUD’s funding allocations.
For more information about emergency federal funding for homelessness:
- COVID-19 Emergency Federal Funding and Homelessness (March 27, 2020)
- The Latest: What the CARES Act Means for the COVID-19 Homelessness Response (April 1, 2020)
