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Program Description
The Emergency Solutions Grants program, formerly the Emergency Shelter Grants Program, is a competitive grant that awards funds to private nonprofit organizations, cities, and counties in the State of Texas to provide the services necessary to help persons that are at-risk of homelessness or homeless quickly regain stability in permanent housing. The ESG program is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and is administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) in the State of Texas.
Eligible Activities
The ESG program provides funding to:
- Engage homeless individuals and families living on the street;
- Improve the number and quality of emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families;
- Help operate these shelters;
- Provide essential services to shelter residents;
- Rapidly re-house homeless individuals and families; and
- Prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless.
Agencies offering ESG services in Texas
| Program Year | Funds Awarded | List of Agencies Funded |
|---|---|---|
2023 | $9,367,485 |
Applying for Funding
- Eligible applicant organizations include units of general purpose local governments and private nonprofit organizations with a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. ESG is a complex program with different requirements including specific eligibility, reporting, and environmental requirements.
- Organizations interested in applying for ESG funds for the first time are invited to carefully review all program requirements found on HUD's Homelessness Resource Exchange website and all guidance provided by TDHCA to current subrecipients.
Strategic Goals
TDHCA has developed strategic goals to guide the use of ESG funds in the state of Texas. These priorities are based on HUD’s programmatic framework, as outlined on HUD's Homelessness Resource Exchange website in the HEARTH Act and the ESG Interim Rule, and the Pathways Home: A Framework to Address Homelessness in Texas. TDHCA’s strategic goals for the ESG program are to:
- Increase community wide planning and strategic use of resources to prevent and end homelessness.
- Improve coordination of mainstream and targeted services, capitalizing on existing strengths and increasing efficiency.
- Build on lessons learned, incorporate and national and local best practice models.
- Shift the emphasis from outputs to outcomes, improving data collection and performance measurement.