City holds public hearing on $2.5 million in ARPA funding to support homeless people

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The City of Wilmington held a public hearing on a plan using $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) funding towards addressing the needs of local homeless people at their meeting on March 7.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated $4.9 billion through the HOME Investment Partnership Program to address homelessness throughout the country.

With its $2.5 million, the draft proposes the city use the funding for:

Development and support for affordable housing
Tenant-based rental assistance
Provision of supportive services
Acquisition and development of non-congregate shelter units (in other words, formatted like a dorm or hotel as opposed to a communal shelter)

According to the current draft of the HOME-ARP plan, these were chosen following input from local organizations that interact with people without homes or shelter. These groups noted a need for more emergency shelter beds, substance abuse treatment, mental health services and permanent supportive housing. They also identified easy access to basic resources like food, water, hygiene and bus passes to be a need in the community.

But out of all of these, the development of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless people was the highest priority. Citizen participation surveys were held as well, which identified new affordable housing and emergency shelters as the highest priorities.

The final plan will be submitted to the council for the March 21 meeting, and that plan is due to HUD by March 30. You can find the full agenda on the city’s website.