Orange County programs that care for the homeless will receive $12.3 million in federal funds through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), according to the Orange County Register.
The funds were announced as 300 Orange County volunteers prepare to participate in the annual nationwide count of the homeless on Saturday. The volunteers will cover about one-third of the county in the early morning.
From the Register story:
Programs run by the Orange County Housing Authority will receive around $6.3 million, but dozens of smaller independent programs will also receive funding. These include housing programs serving veterans, domestic violence victims, seniors, and the chronically homeless, among others.
Six-figure grants go to programs such as Colette’s Children Home, Mercy House, American Family Housing, and Veterans Village, among many others.
Statewide, 801 programs will receive $227,603,786.
In Orange County, hundreds of organizations — including food banks, churches and others — work to feed not just the homeless, but others who are in need.
And a new group, the Orange County Food Access Coalition, is trying to organize distribution of even more food that would otherwise go to waste, including donations from markets, restaurants and backyard gardens.