Mortgage Finance Authority: Emergency Homeless Assistance Program

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) is a federally formula-funded program that uses the Community Development Block Grant formulas as a basis for allocating funds to eligible jurisdictions, including states, territories, and qualified metropolitan cities and urban counties. The Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) is responsible for administering the ESG allocation for New Mexico. MFA established the Emergency Homeless Assistance Program (EHAP) to provide funding assistance to emergency overnight shelters throughout the state.

MFA is seeking qualified Offerors capable of providing program services for EHAP funding within the 2016-2020 Program Years. The objective of EHAP is to help improve the quality of existing emergency shelters for the homeless by assisting with the cost of operating emergency shelters that serve individuals and families experiencing homelessness. EHAP assists with providing safe and sanitary shelter along with certain essential supportive services needed to stabilize living situations.

All eligible activities within EHAP must be carried out by an emergency overnight shelter that serves individuals and families experiencing homelessness, including individuals fleeing domestic violence. Eligible activities include operating costs and essential services to persons in emergency shelters. Essential services may be used to pay for staff costs related to carrying out emergency shelter activities and Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). Eligible activities are detailed more specifically below:

• Operating costs: Eligible operating costs include costs of maintenance (minor or routine repairs), rent, security, fuel, equipment, insurance, utilities, food, furnishings, and supplies necessary for the operation of the emergency shelter. When no emergency shelter beds are available within the facility for a homeless family or individual, eligible costs may also include a hotel or motel voucher for that family or individual.
• Essential services: EHAP funds may be used to provide essential services to individuals and families who are in an emergency shelter. Eligible essential services include case management, childcare, education services, employment assistance and job training, outpatient health services, legal services, life skills training, mental health services, substance abuse treatment services, and transportation.
• Data collection and HMIS costs: Organizations that receive funding under the ESG program must collect and report data on the use of the funds awarded and persons served with this assistance in HMIS.
• Comparable database eligible costs: If the sub-grantee is a domestic violence services provider or a legal services provider, program funds may be used to administer a comparable database that collects client-level data over time and generates unduplicated aggregate reports based on the data.

Note: Emergency Shelter means any facility, the primary purpose of which is to provide a temporary shelter for the homeless in general or for specific populations.

Amount: An estimated $889,080 is available. The Offeror’s budget for emergency shelter cannot exceed 60 percent of the total grant award.

Eligibility: Offerors must be one of the following entity types:

• A nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status and with a primary mission of providing shelter and services to people who are experiencing homelessness, including people fleeing domestic violence
• A unit of general purpose local government
• A tribal government

Please refer to the Emergency Homeless Assistance Program RFP for an additional listing of specific criteria that Offerors must meet.

Link: http://www.housingnm.org/community_development/2016-ehap-rfp

Note: A mandatory RFP training will be held on March 24, 2016.

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