$6 Million Housing Grant Awarded To OASAS

ALBANY, NY (10/15/2008)(readMedia)-- State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Commissioner Karen M. Carpenter-Palumbo today announced that OASAS was awarded a $6 million grant to provide permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless adults who are in recovery from addiction.

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides a Samaritan Bonus Grant Award every year to New York City which is awarded to one agency that will commit to providing permanent supportive housing to chronically homeless single adults with disabilities. This year, the New York City Department of Homeless Services and the New York City Continuum of Care Homeless Coalition selected OASAS as the 2008 Samaritan Grant recipient.

"Housing is a critical part of long-term recovery from addiction and the longer a person remains homeless, the more severe the addiction problems can become," said Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo. "This funding will allow OASAS to play an integral part in providing affordable housing to those who are chronically homeless as a result of their addiction."

Alcoholism or drug addictions are major causes of homelessness. One half of all men and one in four of the women admitted to homeless shelters are dealing with alcohol or drug addiction.

OASAS will equally distribute this Shelter Plus Care rental subsidy grant between two voluntary agencies that are nationally recognized service leaders - Bowery Residents Committee and Project Renewal. More than 80 individuals who have begun their recovery will be placed in apartment units throughout neighborhoods in New York City. OASAS will also provide case management funding to Bowery Residents Committee and Project Renewal, as it does for all Shelter Plus Care sponsoring agencies.

The OASAS Housing Bureau currently manages 450 Shelter Plus Care apartment units in New York City in addition to another 500 units throughout the state. More than 40 percent of these units are for families in recovery; more than one-half of all adult participants in the program are employed full-time.

The HUD Homeless Grant Program awards approximately $150 million to communities in New York State each year, including $70 million to New York City. The HUD Shelter Plus Care grant funding enables voluntary agencies to lease apartments at fair market rental rates from private landlords, thus contributing to the economic development of the neighborhood.

Evidence-based prevention strategies are a key component of the OASAS mission to improve the lives of New Yorkers by leading a premier system of addiction services through prevention, treatment, recovery.

OASAS oversees one of the nation's largest addiction services programs, with 1,550 prevention and treatment providers which serve 110,000 New Yorkers on any given day.

For information or assistance with an alcohol or substance abuse problem, in New York state call the addictions helpline at 1-800-522-5353 or go to the OASAS Web Site at www.oasas.state.ny.us.

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