The City of Asheville, as the Participating Jurisdiction for the four-county Asheville Regional Housing Consortium is seeking public input to inform and prioritize use of a one-time $4.7 million allocation of HOME Investment Partnerships Program funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The funding, known as “HOME-ARP,” is part of a $5 billion commitment in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 specifically targeted to reduce homelessness across the Consortium, which consists of Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania counties, as well as cities and towns within each county.
Brian Huskey, formerly the City’s Homelessness Lead in the Community Development office, has been tasked as Program Manager for the $4.7 million HOME-ARP allocation. He agrees with HUD Secretary Martha Fudge’s comment that HOME-ARP funding presents a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage a large pool of funds with multiple other public and private dollars that can create measurable, strategic impact to reduce homelessness.”
The City of Asheville is required to conduct multiple public engagement activities to be included in an Allocation Plan to be submitted to HUD later this year, which will detail the Consortium’s priorities for use of the funding.
The HOME-ARP Needs and Gaps survey is available to solicit input from stakeholders in all four counties of the Asheville Regional Housing Consortium. Multiple community public engagement listening sessions will also be conducted in each county in the coming months to further inform the creation of the required Allocation Plan. Input will also be solicited from agencies serving those who serve potential beneficiaries of the funding, including homeless and domestic violence service providers, affordable housing developers, veterans’ groups, Public Housing Authorities, and public or private organizations that address fair housing, civil rights, and the needs of persons with disabilities.
To access the HOME-ARP Needs and Gaps Survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NCGVMBW (English)
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HJ67FBT (Spanish)
For more information, please visit: https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/home-arp/