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Washington, D.C.-Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) announced today that the 5th Congressional District of Michigan would receive $559,359 in Emergency Food and Shelter Grants. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded these grants to the 5th District of Michigan to provide shelter, food and supportive services for the hungry and homeless.
“I think this news will come as pleasant surprise to all those individuals without a home or a warm meal during this holiday season. These funds will enable local government agencies and nonprofit organizations to provide critical assistance to homeless and hungry individuals,” said Kildee. “In order to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, we must provide every homeless and hungry individual with immediate access to food, housing and support services to help them avoid a life on the streets.”
Emergency Food and Shelter Grants for 5th District of Michigan:
· $297,656 Genesee County
· $144,461 Saginaw County
· $70,075 Bay County
· $47,167 Tuscola County
The Emergency Food and Shelter (EFS) Program is administered by a national board of volunteer agencies chaired by FEMA. The National Board provides supplemental funding to shelters, soup kitchens, food banks, rent, mortgage and utility assistance program. In each county, a local board advertises the availability of the funds, establishes local priorities, and selects local non-profit and government agencies to receive supplemental funding and monitors program compliance. The Local Recipient Organizations (LROs) use EFS supplemental funds for mass shelter, mass feeding, food distribution, one-month utility payments and one-month rent/mortgage assistance to prevent evictions or assist people leaving shelters to establish stable living conditions.
The EFS Program has been in existence since 1983 and was authorized by Congress under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. The EFS Program has distributed more than $2.4 billion in communities nationwide over the past twenty years to help feed and shelter our nation’s hungry and homeless. Congress appropriated $153 million for the EFS Program for fiscal year 2004. |
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