In the U.S… “almost 500,000 people sleep on our streets every single night. It is a travesty. It is a failure of effort and a failure of will. And so, I am so pleased to see here how successful they have been, and it is a model I would like to replicate throughout the country.”
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge touted Miami-Dade’s Continuum of Care as a model for the nation during a recent visit to a homeless assistance center owned by the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust and operated by Chapman Partnership.
Homeless Trust Chairman Ronald L. Book took Secretary Fudge, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, 24th congressional district, and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on a walking tour of Trust’s homeless operations.
The tour provided a platform to share updates on the status of homelessness in Miami-Dade County, including the use of funds made available through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Topics also included innovations in workforce development and mental health treatment and the Homeless Trust’s progress on the federal House America initiative.
The Secretary also took a moment to address the dire need for affordable housing throughout our community, a challenge that Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is working tirelessly to address. “People right now in this community are paying 50% or more on their rent or their mortgage. We have to find a way to make that better because we cannot continue to allow people to live in those environments.”
“The Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust was honored to host U.S. HUD Secretary Fudge,” said Mr. Book. “We are humbled by her recognition of our work over the past 27 years in assisting people experiencing homelessness. We remain committed to ending homelessness in our community.”
Despite an unprecedented housing crisis, Miami-Dade is leading efforts to identify and secure permanent housing with the help Emergency Housing Vouchers made available through ARPA, and homelessness is at near record lows in Miami-Dade.