HUD Awards $15M to Prevent Youth Homelessness After Foster Care
Last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $15.4 million to support young Americans transitioning out of foster care and experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
The funding is through the Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Program and includes $2.7 million for 168 FYI housing vouchers. FYI also makes Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) assistance available to public housing authorities (PHAs) in partnership with public child welfare agencies. This funding will directly support young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 who left or are transitioning out of foster care and are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Across the country, there are currently 5,422 FYI vouchers administered by 318 PHAs. Funding remains available for additional on-demand FYI assistance under PIH Notice 2023-04, which made $30 million available to PHAs to apply for on demand as eligible youth were identified and referred to the PHA through their partnering PCWA. To date, under this notice, HUD has awarded more than $15 million for a total of 1,389 vouchers.