Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Margene K. Swarts, Assistant Director , Planning & Development Services
CC:	Scott McCullough, Director, Planning & Development Services
Date:	February 15, 2012
RE:	Final Numbers – Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program (HPRP)

The HPRP grant was awarded on a competitive basis, and the State of Kansas was allocated $8,360,295 in funding for the HPRP program.  The City of Lawrence, in partnership with the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, was awarded a total of $748,000 by the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation to help families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.  Although the City received the grant, the LDCHA administered the program.  Program funds, which became available in early November of 2009, were designed to rapidly re-house families who fall into homelessness, or prevent families from becoming homeless in the first place. The funding, provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was also designed to help persons and families facing a sudden financial crisis that could lead to homelessness. 

HPRP offered a variety of short-term financial assistance to those who would otherwise become homeless, many due to sudden economic crisis. This included short-term rental assistance (up to three months), security deposits, utility deposits and/or utility payments, and hotel vouchers. The program also provided assistance to rapidly re-house persons who were homeless and likely to remain stably housed, whether subsidized or unsubsidized, once the HPRP assistance concluded.

The program expended its final funds on February 13, 2012.  At the program end, 296 households have received HPRP Assistance, 248 households were prevented from becoming homeless, and 48 households became housed through participation in the program.  Final program statistics can be found here.