Emergency Letter

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
WASHINGTON, DC 20410-0050

OFFICE OF COMMUNITY PLANNING
AND DEVELOPMENT

April 5, 2022
Ms. Jamie Dickinson
OMB Desk Officer
Office of Management and Budget
New Executive Office Building
Washington, DC 20503
Dear Ms. Dickinson:
The Department requests an emergency review of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
requirements for the “Department of Housing and Urban Development Unsheltered and Rural
Homelessness Special Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)” Competition (Request). The
Notice of Paperwork Submission (copy enclosed), submitted for immediate Federal Register
publication, explains the burden of the collection requirements and invites public comments.
This program is supported by the information collection for the Unsheltered and Rural
Homelessness Special NOFO Competition (OMB control number pending).
Unsheltered homelessness is continuing to rise in many areas of the country. On a single
night in 2019, roughly 568,000 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States.
More than one-third of these were living in unsheltered locations such as on the street, in
abandoned buildings, or in other places not meant for human habitation.1 A recent analysis of
homelessness data shows that people experiencing unsheltered homelessness report significantly
greater health challenges and experiences of trauma and violence than their sheltered peers.2
These challenges often begin before they lose their housing. The COVID-19 pandemic has
exacerbated the health challenges related to homelessness and recent studies show that people
experiencing homelessness with confirmed COVID-19 were more likely to be hospitalized and
have more severed COVID-19 outcomes than those with COVID-19 in the general population.3
Many of the resources that communities have used to address unsheltered homelessness during
the pandemic are winding down, creating an increased risk to people who remain unsheltered. At
the same time, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study4 found that people
experiencing homelessness had significantly lower vaccination coverage compared to housed
residents living in the same geographic areas.
The emergency processing is requested to ensure that this Special NOFO Competition to
support communities efforts to reduce unsheltered homelessness and innovatively reduce
homelessness in rural areas can proceed on an expedited schedule. Providing housing and
supportive services to help people experiencing homelessness obtain and maintain housing thus
reducing their risk for trauma and increasing their health outcomes. The information gathered
1

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2019-AHAR-Part-1.pdf
https://www.capolicylab.org/health-conditions-among-unsheltered-adults-in-the-u-s/
3
(Cha et al., 2021; Han et al., 2021; Hsu et al., 2020; Leifheit et al., 2021)
4
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7048a4.htm?s_cid=mm7048a4_w
2

www.hud.gov

espanol.hud.gov

2
through the application is essential for the Department to fairly and expeditiously review and
score applicants based on their experience, expertise, and proposed housing and supportive
service activities.
Section 231 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act,
2020 (42 U.S.C. 11364a; Public Law 116-94, approved December 20, 2019) provided HUD with
authority to use recaptured CoC Program funds for four purposes, two of which area: (1) grants
under the Continuum of Care program under Subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.); and (2) Not less than 10 percent of the
amounts shall be used only for grants in rural areas under the Continuum of Care program, to
include activities eligible under the Rural Housing Stability Assistance program under section
491 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11408) that are not otherwise
eligible under the Continuum of Care program. HUD is providing funding for Continuums of
Care (CoCs) using these authorities to help them address unsheltered homelessness and, in rural
areas, to implement the unique strategies often needed to reduce homelessness and to add
resources and infrastructure that is lacking. Without asking for this information, HUD will be
unable to ensure the communities awarded have the capacity to implement projects that support
an overall strategy, based in data and evidence, to reduce unsheltered homelessness and amongst
those individuals who are most vulnerable.
Therefore, in compliance with the requirements of 5 CFR Part 1320.13, this letter request
expedited processing within seven days from the passage of the FY2022 annual appropriation.
Thank you for your consideration and assistance.
Sincerely,

JAMES
JEMISON

Digitally signed by JAMES
JEMISON
Date: 2022.04.05 12:09:26
-04'00'

James Arthur Jemison II
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Community Planning and Development

www.hud.gov

espanol.hud.gov