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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2009
Contact:  Joy Fox
(401) 732-9400 

Congressional Delegation Announces Emergency Food and Shelter Grant 

(Warwick, R.I.) - Today, the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation announced $483,972 in federal funds for Rhode Island’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The funds, provided though a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant, are in addition to $975,846 that Rhode Island received this past December for EFSP.

“From February 2008 to February 2009, shelter use was up 43% across the state. Community organizations are doing everything they can to help Rhode Islanders during these challenging economic times, but more support is needed.  This funding ensures that local organizations can continue to assist families with basic necessities, and provides a crucial lift to help them get back on their feet,” said the delegation in a joint statement.

EFSP uses measures of unemployment and poverty to allocate the funds it receives from FEMA to city and county jurisdictions around the country. EFSP funds can be used for a broad range of services, including: mass shelter; mass feeding; food distribution through food pantries and food banks; one-month assistance with rent; mortgage and utility payments to prevent evictions; and transition assistance from shelters to stable living conditions. EFSP’s objectives are to allocate funds to the neediest areas; to ensure fast response; to foster public-private sector partnerships; to ensure local decision-making; and to maintain minimal but accountable reporting.

EFSP was created in 1983 with a $50 million federal appropriation to help meet the needs of hungry and homeless people throughout the United States and its territories by allocating federal funds for the provision of food and shelter. Appropriated annually by Congress under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, EFSP provides supplemental funds to more than 12,000 agencies.