St Louis MO - The Obama Administration announced December 23, 2009, that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is renewing grant funding to keep thousands of local homeless assistance programs operational. Nearly $1.4 billion in renewal funding will help an unprecedented 6,400 programs continue to offer critically-needed housing and services to homeless persons and families.

Over 100 social service agencies throughout the state of Missouri are receiving $23 million for homeless services funding. The Balance of State Continuum of Care, which is a community plan to end homelessness that covers the 101 rural counties of Missouri, will be allocated $3.13 million of the $1.4 billion in funding from HUD. Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) is the lead agency for the Balance of State Continuum of Care and will manage the application and allocation process for the 2010 funding.

The $3.13 million received by the Balance of State Continuum of Care will be allocated to qualifying social service agencies. The agencies will use these funds for permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, supportive services and Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) costs.

In 2010, HUD will announce the allocation of funding for new projects that will serve homeless persons and families, a share of which Missouri is planning to receive. The application and allocation process for the new project funding will also be managed by MHDC.

For a complete list of agencies receiving funding through the Balance of State Continuum of Care in 2010, visit www.hud.gov.

The 14 counties of Missouri not included in the Balance of State Continuum of Care serve the more metropolitan areas of the state. These counties receive funding through their own continua, serving the St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles, Springfield, Joplin, Kansas City and St. Joseph areas.

MHDC is an instrumentality of the state of Missouri, which constitutes a body corporate and politic. It is governed by a board of directors that includes the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer and six commissioners appointed by the governor. The commission makes funds available for rental housing developments, preservation of affordable rental housing, home mortgages, home improvement loans, grants to neighborhood housing groups and other housing programs. MHDC functions as a bank, providing financing directly to developers or through a network of private lending institutions.