During the Plano City Council meeting on Jan. 9, councilmembers voted unanimously to approve $1.9 million in funds to support homeless individuals in the city.
The HOME American Rescue Plan allocates funds for those with an income of 50% or below the area median. The funds will primarily be used for homeless prevention resources in order to keep individuals off the streets.
The plan shows that $1.4 million will go to support services, $310,000 will go to tenant-based rental assistance, $110,000 to case management and housing navigation, $50,000 to the city of Plano administration and $50,000 to sub-recipients.
The HOME Allocation Plan explains that the City of Plano previously received the $1.9 million in funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2021. From there, the funds were given to provide housing and services for residents that are experiencing homelessness and at-risk individuals.
“We’ve been working on this since September of 2021,” councilmember Rick Grady said during the meeting. “The faster we can get this money out and into the community, the better off our community is going to be because they haven’t stopped hurting.”
After the city council approved the allocation of the funds, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has 45 days to disapprove the plan. If there is no disapproval sent to the city, the funds can be distributed.
According to the plan, the city worked closely with key community organizations to finalize the plan, including Housing Forward, Hope’s Door Texas Muslim Women’s Foundation, Plano Housing Authority and the Salvation Army.
“Homelessness can happen to anyone for many different reasons, and if they can’t fight, we have to fight for them,” Grady previously told Local Profile.
For more updates on the HOME Allocation Plan subscribe to the “Homelessness Issues, Programs and Policies” topic on the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs’ email list.