Shauna Curphey - Writing

Cashed Out
HUD allocation leaves local programs short
Real Change, February 15, 2000

by Shauna Curphey

Patrick Allesandre's troubles didn't end a year ago when he found transitional housing for his wife, two kids, and himself. The family had to save enough for first month's rent and a security deposit for their new rental. From being homeless with no place to go, they “suddenly had a whole series of bills to handle and a whole life situation to work with," he says. That's when the Allesandre family started meeting with Michael Schwartz, their case manager in the YWCA Transition into Permanent Program (TIPP).

Unless the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reconsiders a funding decision, TIPP, a program that served 100 families and 300 children last year, will be gone.

In late December, HUD announced that social service organizations in Seattle and King County would receive $8.2 million less than they had requested in federal McKinney Homeless Assistance funds. The HUD money constitutes the lowest award this region has received since 1995.

Five homeless support services, including TIPP, did not receive the $4.8 million they need to keep going. HUD did not fund more than $3.4 million requested for new programs.

King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle Mayor Paul Schell asked HUD to reconsider the award amount. They argue that HUD's funding allocation formula was not fully disclosed when their Continuum of Care application was submitted.

The Regional Homeless Child Care Program is facing severe funding cuts when its HUD contract expires at the end of March. The program helps homeless families secure child care by providing tuition subsidies to those who do not qualify for city, county, or state child care subsidy programs. It also supplies transportation to child care for homeless families in isolated areas. Since many homeless children need special care, the program works with child care providers to address aggressive behavior or other problems.

Without HUD funding, Regional Homeless Child Care will lose 60 percent of its subsidy program. Support services will be lost completely. The program serves 370 families, including more than 750 children, each year. Staff filed for an extension from HUD to keep going until they can reapply next year. The program is seeking money from the city, the county, and private foundations to make up for the HUD losses. In the meantime, providers, clients, and other stakeholders are advocating on behalf of the program.

TIPP, too is working to replace the lost funds. One of its biggest supporters is former client Allesandre. He recalls that new challenges faced his family once they found permanent housing. His case manager, Schwartz, was there for him.

"Our goals were first to have a stable financial situation, to take proper care of our children, and to progress to where we could eventually own a home," says Allesandre.

Schwartz helped when there were problems with their Section 8 paperwork and later when their food stamps were missing for two weeks. He taught them how to negotiate a payment plan for their utility bills. For Allesandre, this support contributed to a secure situation for his children.

"They could live a normal child's life during all that was happening. I suppose there is nothing more meaningful to me than that. Because of [TIPP's] backup, today we are handling all that ourselves," he says. "We know the resources to access and we are in a position to begin to put together a down payment on a house."

In addition to TIPP and child care, programs that provide medical care in temporary respite housing, medical case management, and employment services also received funding cuts. Their HUD funds run out in November.

In a report issued in early December, HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo registered his enthusiasm for programs like TIPP, saying, "Assistance programs can replace the nightmare of homelessness with the American dream of a better future."

HUD has not yet responded to public calls for a reconsideration of the funding decision.