Homelessness and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP)
On February 17, 2009, the President of the United States signed Title XII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) into law. ARRA appropriated 1.5 billion for homelessness prevention type services and the rapid re-housing of homeless or near homeless persons. The grant program under Title XII is commonly referred to as the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). The Agency responsible for the implementation of the program is the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The intent of the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) is to provide financial assistance and services to either prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless or help those who are experiencing homelessness to be quickly re-housed and stabilized.
The funds have been allocated according to the current Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) formula with a grant minimum of $500,000. Under the formula used to determine the amount of allocation that a government agency would receive, the City of Rialto will receive $546,485 in HPRP funds.
Grant funds must be used for eligible activities as described in the HPRP Notice. There are four (4) categories of eligible activities for the HPRP program: 1) financial assistance 2) housing relocation and stabilization services 3) data collection and evaluation, and 4) administrative costs. HPRP assistance is not intended to provide long-term support for program participants nor will it be able to address all of the financial and supportive services need of households that affect housing stability.
Congress provided that these funds be treated as though such funds were Emergency Shelter Grant “ESG” funds, and established aggressive timelines at the federal and state/local levels for taking action with these new HPRP funds. In order for the City of Rialto to receive these funds, the City was required to submit a substantial amendment to its One-Year Action Plan (2008-2009 One-Year Action Plan) by no later than May 19, 2009 (see HPRP Substantial Amendment below). In addition, the City is required to expend 60 percent of the HPRP grant funds within two years of the date that the funds become available to the City for obligation (date of signed agreement) and 100 percent of the funds within three years.
Related Content: