As the economic downturn continues, the rate of both homelessness and hunger has increased in Middle Tennessee and across the country. Congressman Bart Gordon announced today that DeKalb County has been awarded a $7,422 grant to help people in need of food and shelter.
“The money allocated today will help to expand DeKalb’s existing program,” explained Congressman Gordon. “Not only can the funds be used for food and shelter purposes, but they can also be used to provide one-month assistance with rent, mortgage and utility payments to prevent evictions, and transition assistance from shelters to stable living conditions.”
The America Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law on February 17th, provided funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Food and Shelter (EFSP) National Board Program. ESFP’s objectives are to allocate funds to the neediest areas; to ensure fast response; to foster public-private sector partnerships; to ensure local decision-making; and to maintain accountable reporting.
If you have any questions about the grant DeKalb County received, you can contact the DeKalb County Help Center at 615-597-5175. Funds were allocated on the basis of a formula that took current population, unemployment and poverty into account.
Gordon added, “I am confident that grants like this, in addition to the job creation components and federal grant programs that received funding from the Recovery Act, will pull Middle Tennessee and the rest of the country out of this recession and back on the track of economic prosperity.”
For more information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the programs that received funding, visit Congressman Bart Gordon’s “Economic Recovery Center” at www.bart.house.gov/recovery.
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