Grant brings extra boost for homeless.

Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

It didn't come wrapped up with a shiny ribbon, but county officials say news of an extra $573,000 in federal grant money amounts to the gift of a roof over their heads and needed social services for dozens of chronically homeless Lane County residents.

Two local facilities - the Royal Avenue and Centro Latinoamericano shelters - will use the new funds to offer longer-term housing to people dealing with mental illness or substance abuse.

The rest of the county's award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which totals $1.7 million, will go to existing programs that serve homeless people in the county.

Steve Manela, director of the county's Human Services Commission, said Wednesday that the size of this year's grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development came as a pleasant holiday surprise.

"We apply every year to HUD for renewal of grants for our existing homeless programs, but we were especially pleased that in this time of shrinking budgets we were able to get funding for two additional projects," Manela said. "This is the largest grant that we've been awarded since we've been applying for this money, beginning in the early 1990s."

Right now, the Royal Avenue Shelter provides crisis care to adults with mental illness, Manela said. The new funding will allow the shelter to convert some of those crisis slots to longer-term housing, which will help people continue their treatment and recovery without the threat of homelessness.

Likewise, the money will allow Centro Latinoamericano to provide similar housing programs to its population of Spanish-speaking men who face homelessness while trying to overcome substance abuse, he said.

Royal Avenue can house up to a dozen chronically mentally ill clients, plus provide a day room to serve 24 more with case management and other assistance.

Centro Latinoamericano's shelter has space for 23 residents.

Lane County also assists a variety of other local agencies by securing HUD grants to support their programs:

Shankle Safe Haven - provides a 12-bed residential facility and a 20-person day room program in Glenwood for people with mental illness.

Riverbend Shelter Plus Care - serves 36 homeless chronically mentally ill single adults with housing, treatment and other services.

New Roads and Catholic Community Services Young Parent programs - offer transitional housing and life skills services to homeless youth and young parents ages 13-21 years.

St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County's "Connections" program - provides 36 units of transitional housing for homeless families with children.

Open Doors - long-term program to help 45 homeless families with children each year to stabilize their lives and find permanent housing.

Family Shelter Transitional Support Program - houses 170 homeless families with children each year, offering support services, child respite care and limited financial and other assistance to help them find jobs, education and permanent housing.

Housing Scholarship Program - provides a monthly rent subsidy to 23 homeless families in exchange for their satisfactory progress in educational, vocational or self-development programs.