FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Richard Faris, Lee County Human Services
              (239) 652-7930

YEAR END GRANTS GIVE HOMELESS HOPE FOR 2004

FORT MYERS, Fla. (December 23, 2003) - Lee County agencies will receive $1.8 million next year to provide housing and supportive services to homeless families and individuals - part of $1.3 billion in grants announced this week by President George W. Bush and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Acting Secretary Alphonso Jackson.

The grants, part of HUD's Continuum of Care and Emergency Shelter Grant programs, will help the homeless to find emergency shelter, transitional housing and a permanent home.

The local grants - part of $58.4 million distributed in Florida - will go to Southwest Florida Addiction Services ($86,199), the Salvation Army ($1,286,207), and Lee County Human Services ($394,863), to fill critical needs for permanent supportive housing and continue programs delivering a broad range of health, housing and employment services for Lee County homeless residents.

The Lee County 2003 Homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) application covered all local jurisdictions. Lee County's Department of Human Services is responsible for grant planning, application and administration. The nonprofit Lee County Coalition for the Homeless, Florida, Inc. and its member providers implement the Continuum of Care programs. Continuum programs have the goals of homelessness prevention and restoring homeless families, individuals, and children to housing and independent lives.

The grants are competitively awarded, funds are not guaranteed, and the competition to receive them becomes stiffer each year. Lee County and the Coalition are pleased to have been successful in convincing the judges that this area's homeless program is viable and effective.

For more information on the recently announced grants, view this press release from HUD http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr03-143.cfm.