How do you lift someone out of chronic homelessness? Permanent supportive housing is a proven model that just got a boost in Birmingham thanks to a local partnership of matching grants and $500,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, .

Your Community Foundation made a grant of $25,000, matched by $25,000 from local donors Mike and Karen Luce, that made it possible for Metropolitan Birmingham Services for the Homeless to apply for the HUD grant. These federal dollars will go to the Firehouse Shelter, making it possible to provide 25 new units of permanent supporting housing for men who have been homeless for a long time and face a debilitating condition such as mental illness.

This is a prime example of what your Community Foundation does, bringing partners together to move our community forward and, in this case, to help some of our most vulnerable residents. And if the HUD grant system works as it usually does, this new grant will be renewed in future years, allowing this important program to continue.

Click here to find out more about the project, one of many reasons to be proud of how we are building a brighter future for everyone.